Children of the Cloud
by JayTang
Summary: Kumo's kidnapping attempt is successful... but Naruto is kidnapped as well. How will things turn out when they decide to return to the village of their birth? NaruHina. Strong, semi-cold Naruto; Strong, Bold Hinata. M for lemons and gore. 18 only, please
1. Chapter 1: A Success!

**A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, multiple severe adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**NEW: **

**Well, you guys voted, and here it is!**

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

**1/16/2010**

* * *

Chapter 1: A Success

In Konohakagure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the Yondaime Hokage faced the Shinigami, the god of death. He had done his sworn duty as Hokage. He had just defeated the greatest of the Biju, the Kyuubi no Kitsune...at the cost of his own life. Minato Namikaze had sealed the beast into his own son, scarcely a few hours old.

"Shinigami-sama, may I make one request? I know the cost of Shiki Fujin, but may I have ten minutes before you take me?"

"**Very well. Such a miniscule duration is nothing to a being of eternity such as I."** The Shinigami replied.

Minato opened his eyes, seeing his predecessor, the Sandaime Hokage, standing above him.

"Hiruzen, listen carefully." He gasped, his body already failing despite his soul still present. "I do not have long in this world. Help take care of Naruto, do you hear me? Kushina-chan is going to need all the help she can get—"

"Minato…" Sarutobi said mournfully. "Kushina died as a result of complications in childbirth."

Minato closed his eyes and whispered a prayer to Kami. _I won't even be able to see her in the afterlife. _"Then Naruto's welfare depends on you, then. Make sure he is treated well. Make sure no one hates him for his burden." The tall blonde looked down at his son in his arms. The seal was fresh on his stomach, but would fade away soon. Minato had specifically designed this seal himself, and knew every facet of the seal like the back of his hand. The Kyuubi shouldn't be able to influence Naruto whatsoever until Naruto started drawing on large amounts of the Kyuubi's youkai, which hopefully wouldn't have to happen until Naruto had the mental maturity to control the demon. However, Minato feared that the villagers might see Naruto as the reincarnation of the Demon-Fox, instead of the person who kept it contained.

"The Kyuubi will not be able to control Naruto. Make sure people know that. Take care of him…" Minato's voice trailed off as his soul began to leave his body._ Sarutobi, you'd better not screw up in taking care of my son..._ "…or I'll come back to kill you myself…" With that, he died.

The next thing Minato saw was the Shinigami. "You have my eternal gratitude, Shinigami-sama." He said, realizing that eternity was exactly how long he would be in the belly of death. "I am ready, now."

Minato shivered as the Shinigami's cold hand wrapped around him. But the Death God did not bring his hand towards his mouth to swallow him. Instead, Minato felt himself being lifted higher and higher.

"Shinigami-sama, I do not understand. Am I not supposed to reside in your stomach, tortured for eternity?"

"**You were, mortal. However, because you used Shiki Fujin for purely altruistic reasons, knowing full well the consequences of such an act, Kami-sama allowed me to give you a test. If you had tried to fight back to stop your soul from being consumed, then you would have failed. Instead, I have chosen to allow you access to the afterlife."**

Minato smiled as he felt a warm light on his face. Perhaps things wouldn't be so bad after all. "Wait for me, Kushina-chan. I'll be right there."

* * *

"ENOUGH!" Sarutobi roared. "If Minato's son dies, the Kyuubi no Kitsune will be released again! Is that what you fools want? Do you think the Nine-tails will be happy?" He suppressed a smile at his own lie. This way, no one would dare attack Naruto.

The council immediately quieted. Almost immediately upon hearing what had happened to the Kyuubi, they had demanded the death of the child before even asking his name or thinking about consulting his parents. A few members paled at the thought of the absolute betrayal of the Yondaime they would be commiting by harming his son, while others shivered at the thought of a released Kyuubi no Kitsune, bound to be even angrier and more destructive than before.

Sarutobi reveled in the effectiveness of his little white lie. "Hmmm…Minato wasn't sure, but too much emotional stress may also release the Kyuubi." He said loudly enough for everyone to hear.

A man with bandages covering his entire right side spoke up. "We should train him, make him into a weapon! With the power of the Kyuubi at our fingertips, Konoha can rise to become the greatest village of all."

The Sandaime scowled. "What part of 'no emotional stress' didn't you get, Danzo?"

"That's just the thing. With my training methods, he will have no emotions."

"No." Sarutobi said flatly.

"But—"

"I said no, Danzo! As Hokage, I forbid it! If, and only if, Naruto wishes to become a ninja, then he will receive the proper training. Knowing his father and mother, that is literally a guarantee, yes?" Sarutobi looked around the council, seeing the acceptance on everyone's faces. "Now, there is still the issue of his upbringing. Naruto is the heir to the Namikaze Clan, but he is only a baby. As such, he will live under the care of others until his twelfth birthday. Is there anyone who believes they deserve this honor?"

Much to the surprise of the other council members, Hiashi Hyuga was the first to stand. "Minato was a good friend of me and the Hyuga. If our situations were reserved, he would do the same for my unborn daughter. I, Hiashi Hyuga, humbly request the privilege of taking care of Namikaze Naruto." There were gasps around the council room.

Next, a feral-eyed woman with dark hair stood. "The Inuzuka owe a debt of loyalty to Minato Namikaze as well. Minato was a fine man, and Hiashi-san is right: he would take care of another's pup and treat it like his own. I, Tsume Inuzuka, humbly request the privilege of taking care of Namikaze Naruto." _Perhaps Kiba and Naruto will become friends, as well._ Tsume thought, referring to her two-month old son.

Sarutobi nodded. "Very well. Anyone else…Shikaku, please wake up."

Inoichi snorted in amusement and elbowed his friends in the ribs. The scarred Nara shot up. Apparently, he had actually been paying attention...while somehow still sleeping? Sarutobi figured it must be a Nara male trait.

"Huh? Oh, it'd be too troublesome for me to have more than one kid in my house. My wife would probably make me play with both of them. Nah, far too much of a drag for me."

Small laughter could be heard around the council as Shikaku basically confirmed the basic stereotype of the lazy Nara male. "Fine. As the Sandaime Hokage of Konohakagure no Sato, I declare that Namikaze Naruto will spend the first twelve years of his life living with the Inuzuka and the Hyuga. He will live with them in periods of two years each before switching. The Inuzuka will have custody of him first, and after two years the Hyuga will take care of him. This switching will continue until he is twelve."

Hiashi and Tsume nodded. "That sounds most fair, Hokage-sama."

* * *

_Three years later…_

Hiashi smiled at his young charge, Naruto, and his daughter, Hinata. A year ago, Tsume had relinquished Naruto to the Hyuga, with little lack of regret. Apparently, ever since Kiba had been born, Naruto wouldn't stop crying, and neither would Kiba. Tsume had to put their bedrooms at opposite sides of the Inuzuka Compound! Even when they were awake, if Kiba and Naruto were in the same room they would both immediately start crying!

_If it weren't for little Hana-chan_, Tsume had said, _I would have gone insane. Lets hope that a similar situation does not occur with your daughter and Naruto._

Hiashi suppressed his own amusement, but his wife still caught on. Hitami just knew him too well.

"Something amusing, Hiashi-kun?" She asked, a single eyebrow delicately raised.

Hiashi shook his head. "Just thinking about how well Naruto and Hinata get along, Hitami-chan."

And really, Naruto and Hinata were practically best friends. In stark contrast to life at the Inuzuka's, Naruto's situation at the Hyuga's was far different in relation to the respective clan heirs. Naruto and Hinata were incredibly close, almost like siblings. They even slept together, although just for comfort in the night, and Hiashi and Hitami doubted anything inappropriate would occur, as they were only three. They were even calling each other "Nawutoh-kun" and "Heenatah-chan".

Hitami smiled. "I know. Its really such a shame that they aren't older, isn't it. Then we could tease them about having crushes on each other."

Hiashi chuckled. "I don't know if would be such a good idea…maybe Hinata picked up your shyness." He joked.

Hitami blushed. When they were younger, Hitami had been unable to confess her feelings for Hiashi. But when she had… "Maybe Naruto would faint, like you did when I told I loved you."

Hiashi gasped up in mock outrage. "You swore to never mention that again! Now I must uphold the Hyuga honor and punish you accordingly." He joked.

Hiashi pinned his wife's arms behind her back and passionately kissed her. Hitami broke away, breathless. "Hiashi-kun, Naruto and Hinata are in the next room." She gasped, scandalized and excited at the same time.

Hitami moaned as Hiashi caressed her. "Staying quiet is half the fun…"

**(AN: What? Hanabi hasn't been conceived yet, and babies don't just happen… well, you do, but that's only when you get completely wasted.)**

* * *

Hiashi awoke. It was early in the morning, around 3:00 AM, perhaps. He had a bad feeling, and activated his Byakugan.

Hiashi swore, waking up Hitami. "Hiashi-kun, what's wrong?"

Hiashi was already dressing. "Someone is in Hinata's room. Wake up everyone else!" In a blink, he was out the door.

* * *

Hiashi chased the intruder through the Hyuga compound. His rage boiled as he saw a sack carelessly draped over the intruder's shoulder. His daughter was in that bag! With glee, Hiashi noted that the man wasn't fast enough to get out of the compound before Hiashi caught up. Unfortunately, the kidnapper seemed to sense this too, and tried a different approach.

Juang ran into the nearest room with the intent to grab a hostage. It was a risk, but a slim chance was better than no chance at all. Juang knew he would be killed instantly if the Hyuga head caught up to him. Keeping the sack with the heiress over his shoulder, Juang grabbed the sleeping occupant of the bed. He saw a child with blonde hair. _Damn! This isn't even a Hyuga! I needed someone important to keep that bastard from killing me!_

Regardless, Juang jumped back into the hallway, seeing Hiashi still approaching, his Byakugan blazing. Juang held a kunai to the boy's throat, and surprisingly, Hiashi stopped, his indecision clear on his face.

"Don't move!" Juang warned unnecessarily, backing up all the while. _Wait a minute, spiky blonde hair, blue eyes…this is the Yondaime's kid! Maybe Raikage-sama will forgive me for getting caught if I bring him the son of the Yellow Flash!_

Hiashi froze. He wasn't fast enough to kill or stop the man before he could kill Naruto, but if he didn't stop him, Hinata would be kidnapped!

Juang took advantage of Hiashi's hesitation and fled, still carrying Hinata and Naruto. Hiashi immediately reacted by running after him, but he could see that he wouldn't catch up in time. Hiashi saw the intruder disappear into the bright light of the outdoors. He immediately followed, but when he got out, the intruder was nowhere to be seen.

Hiashi fell to his knees. _No… Hitami, Minato, Hinata, Naruto… I've failed you all._

* * *

**AN: Alright, so there it is; the first chapter.**

**Now, 20 of you voted on my profile for this story. I think its reasonable to expect half of you to review.**

**I'm not going to do any ultimatums, and the next chapter will come regardless of how many reviews I get, but it would be great if people let me know their thoughts. Tell me if you love it or hate it, what I can improve on and what I can keep the same.**


	2. Chapter 2: Time in Kumo

**A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, multiple severe adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

You guys did a great job of reviewing!

Review response:

Narutos Vixen:

So far so good I love the cute baby talk and will the next chapter be a time  
skip or will it show what has been happening since they've been in kumo?

**Well, I would like to respond to your question, but that would be redundant. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Storyteller1333:

kumo nabbed both naru and hina? muahahah, lets see how naruto grow up WITHOUT  
some 1 tryin to cripple him. hope u wont let this go after 2 or 3 chappys, like so many other stories like this.

**I have absolutely no intention of abandoning this story. Except for my first two fics, in which I had absolutely no idea of where I was going with the plot, I like to complete a story once I start it. I expect this story will have over 30 chapters, but less than 100. I know that's an awfully broad range, but at least I know what I'm going to do with the plot.**

Dragon Man 180:

Please don't kill off Hitami, I really want to see her reunited with Naruto and Hinata years later. I can't wait to see how things go for Naruto and Hinata in Kumo. I can see them befriending Yugito and playing with her.

**Sorry, but I'm going to stay as close to possible cannon as possible. In other words, Hitami is going to be dead by the time Naruto and Hinata are twelve. Sorry, but otherwise I'd practically be making her an OC, and I'm not that good at that.**

**Jaytang:**

I think that you guys will notice something interesting in this story. The residents of Kumo and Konoha are neither good nor bad, respectively. Each is doing what they think is best for their own village, while acting in a way that they consider moral. For example, the Raikage has grown up with slavery all around him; he does not see it as a moral infraction. In contrast, residents of Konoha are horrified at the prospect of human slavery, as they have been brought up believed. Where do Naruto and Hinata fall? Find out, damn it!

**NEW: **

**Well, you guys voted, and here it is!**

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

**1/24/2010**

* * *

Chapter 2: Time in Kumo

"Your orders were to kidnap one Hyuga Hinata, without getting caught."

Juang sweated as he bowed before the Raikage. He knew that he could be killed at any moment; the Raikage had no compunctions about spilling blood in the audience room.

"You failed." The Fourth Raikage continued. "Instead, you also brought me a small blonde brat, and you got caught by the clan had of the Hyuga. Now I have to deal with the troubles of Konoha complaining that we have violated the terms of the treaty before the ink was even dry. Do you know what this does to our image with other nations? Do you have any excuse for your actions?"

Juang decided a little creative lying would be best. "Actually, Raikage-sama, I had the health of Kumo in mind. The blonde boy is no other than Namikaze Naruto, the son of the Yondaime Hokage himself. He may be able to access his father's artificial bloodline limit, allowing him to use Hiraishin no Jutsu. I also succeeded in capturing the Hyuga heiress as well. Our true motives being discovered is not a problem; after all, we were never going to complete the peace treaty with Konoha anyways." Juang's mouth abruptly snapped closed as he realized he was being too presumptuous.

Luckily, the Raikage seemed to be in a good mood. "Juang, you have no idea what kind of prize you have brought me. The Yondaime Hokage's brat is like Yugito or Kirabi. He bears the Nine-tailed Fox Demon within himself, making his reserves greater than Kirabi."

"Hmm...I was considering simple having the girl undergo a surgical procedure to remove her ovaries and harvest her eggs so that we can fertilize and implant them in surrogate mothers. Then we would simply raise the girl to follow our own beliefs and make her one of our own ninja. However, it seems like a better alternative is available. We shall breed the Hyuga and the Kyuubi together to make ninjas with massive chakra reserves, yet perfect chakra control. Even better, they will have the Byakugan, and possibly even the Hiraishin no Jutsu."

Juang let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, but stiffened at the Raikage's next words.

"However, you didn't obey me to the letter, as what I need from my operatives. Since it turned out well, I will be merciful. However...you are lying to me, I can tell. I don't like it when people lie to me."

In a blink of an eye, E, fourth Raikage of Kumo, punched his hand through his subordinate's chest, ripping his still beating heart from his body.

"A quick death is far preferable to torture, don't you think?" The Raikage asked himself. _Hmm, the Hyuga is far too valuable to risk her in combat; her children will always have the Byakugan, but the same cannot be said for the Namikaze; his children will not have the Kyuubi in them, although they will still have large reserves. What should I do with them?_

* * *

_Four years later…_

E watched in amusement as a seven-year-old blonde boy faced off against a man nearly three times his height. The blonde wielded a wooden katana as did his opponent. Despite his disadvantage in size, the boy made up for it in speed and strength, and E smiled as his sword cracked against the taller man's kneecap, shattering it. In a blink the boy brought the wooden prop around to crash into his opponent's temple, rendering him unconscious.

As the medics carried the loser away, the blonde boy faced the Raikage, who nodded.

"Most impressive, Naruto-dono. I think you deserve a reward."

Naruto kept his facial expression calm. _What? The Raikage isn't the type to reward success. He merely punishes failure._

The Raikage motioned, and Yugito Nii led a small girl into the room.

"I think you've earned your first slave." The Raikage commented. He planned on familiarizing the boy to his concubine early, so that there would be minimal problems later on.

Upon seeing the girl, Naruto did a quick analysis of her, as he was trained. Only after concluding that she had no hidden weapons and probably no martial training did his mind allow him to take in her physical appearance. The girl had dark-blue hair, which framed her face nicely, and looked to be in good physical health. Her eyes, however, had no pupil, and Naruto wondered if she was blind. _She's kind of cute, though_,_ but she seems awfully……familiar._

The girl bowed before the Raikage. "How may I serve you, Raikage-sama?"

* * *

_Flashback…_

The Raikage turned to one of his two Jinchuriki.

"Has the Hyuga been fully conditioned, Yugito?" He asked, referring to the basic brainwashing that all slaves went through to quell any rebellious thoughts. After the 'treatment' the individual in question would obey their master immediately and without any thought of disobeying.

The blond woman bowed. "Yes, Raikage-sama." She answered. "I did not specify who her master was, as you instructed."

"Good." The Raikage said absently. The sooner those two could begin having children, the better. The Raikage knew the fruits of his endeavor would not ripen for many years, but when it did… the Ninja World would tremble.

_End Flashblack_

* * *

"You will not serve me, slave." The Raikage answered. He pointed to Naruto. "Naruto will be your master. You will obey him and follow his every wish and command."

The young girl nodded and went to stand behind and off to the side of Naruto, a deferential position. "I am happy to serve, Naruto-sama." She recited, and Naruto's eye twitched.

The Raikage nodded approvingly. "Naruto, this shall be your new slave. Despite her appearance, she can still see. Return to your quarters and take the next three days off so that your slave can accommodate to your habits and schedules."

Naruto nodded. "Yes, Raikage-sama. Thank you, Raikage-sama."

"You are excused."

* * *

Naruto sighed in a bored manner upon entering his house.

"So what do I call you?"

The lavender-eyed girl _eeped_ and turned around. "Um, are you talking to me, Naruto-sama?"

Naruto's cerulean eyes twitched again. "Please don't call me that. My name is Naruto."

The girl bowed her head. "Yes, Master Naruto."

Naruto got a tick mark on his forehead. "No, my name is Naruto. Just Naruto. Not Naruto-sama, not Master Naruto, not Master. Just call me Naruto. So what's your name?" He asked, not unkindly.

The girl stared at the floor sadly. "No one has e-ever asked me that. Yugito-sama has always refered to me as 'slave' or 'girl'."

"Always?" Naruto asked.

The girl looked down. "I think I was once called……Hinata."

Naruto smiled gently. "Okay, well since I don't like calling you 'slave' or 'servant' or 'hey, you', I'll just call you Hinata. Well, Hinata, I usually cook for myself and wash my own clothes. So you don't have to work that much, okay?"

Hinata frowned. She had been taught that if a slave didn't do anything, it was useless. "Then what can I do, Naruto-sa…Naruto?"

Naruto tilted his head to the side as he thought. _I wonder if Hinata and I can be friends._ He thought, not truly understanding the definition of master and slave. "Wanna play a board game?"

Hinata nodded. _What is 'play', and what is a 'board game'?_ She wondered. _Yugito-sensei says that a slave must do whatever his or her master commands, though._

The blonde boy went to a cabinet and pulled out a box. He opened it to reveal a flat board with kanji on it, small characters in the shape of various animals, dice, and a coin. He handed Hinata the instructions.

"Ano." Hinata said softly. "I, I, c-cant read. Slaves are forbidden from learning even numbers."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Then I'll teach you how to read, Hinata."

The dark-blue haired girl gasped. "But that's a crime! You could be e-executed if anyone f-found out!"

Naruto winked at her. "Then let's not tell anyone. It'll be our secret."

Hinata blushed. _Naruto-sama is much nicer than I thought he would be. At least he doesn't hit me or yell at me. Then again, I haven't done anything bad yet. I promise that I will do my best to never disappoint Naruto-sama…no, Naruto!_

* * *

_Two years later…_

Naruto groaned, his body aching in multiple places from his workouts. He loudly closed the door, unbuckling his katana and setting it on a stand.

He walked into his living room, to see Hinata doing what appeared to be a dance. Naruto raised an eyebrow. It wasn't a dance, it was a kata for taijutsu!

Hinata looked to be absolutely absorbed in her endeavors, at least until Naruto cleared his throat.

Hinata started, and whipped her head around guiltily. It was Naruto! Naruto shook his head sadly. "Hinata, what am I going to do with you?" Hinata froze. It would be well within Naruto's rights to kill her where she stood. _Naruto, you keep me well-fed, and I use my health to blaspheme against you. You taught me to read, and I repay you by learning forbidden material within your own home. I must be the most privileged slave, yet the most disobedient one. I can't help it, though. There's a want in me, a desire. A desire to learn, to become stronger……to become your equal, Naruto-kun. But that can never happen, can it? A slave may love her master, but a master will never fall in love with slave._

Hinata flinched as Naruto walked up to her and poked her in the leg. _That's it?_

Naruto poked her again, and she still didn't respond. "Hinata, when someone pokes your leg, that generally means to move it." He said jokingly.

Confused, still wary of what her punishment would be, Hinata allowed Naruto to position her legs in a slightly wider stance. Naruto stood back to admire his handiwork. "Well, your balance looks atrocious, you aren't forming a fist correctly, and you keep your sight focused on a single point." He stated flatly. "Lets get to work."

_Naruto-kun……why?_

* * *

_Three years later… twelve years total after the Kyuubi attack…_

Naruto opened his red eyes, an orange aura surrounding him. His chakra coat mostly conformed to the shape of his body, but two triangular projects on his head made rudimentary ears, but there were no telltale signs of chakra tails that most jinchuriki had when using their resident.

The Raikage nodded. "Impressive. It took Yugito and Kirabi a decade to even begin to control their Biju, yet you have done it in under a year. And you are in complete control of your mental faculties?"

Naruto nodded, and spoke through elongated fangs. "Yes, Raikage-sama. I am a little bit more impulsive, but if I concentrate I can still think clearly. If I try to channel more youkai, feelings of rage and the urge to destroy things overwhelms me." Well, that wasn't quite a lie. Being one of the Raikage's main pupils, Naruto had access to the jutsu library of Kumo. He had discovered a Bushin jutsu that actually made solid clones, the Kage Bushin no Jutsu. Even better, shadow clones gave their experience back to the owner when they were dispelled, and Naruto used that in basically everything! Technically, Naruto supposed his total time of experience was a few decades, all compressed into a few years.

The Raikage smiled, a rare expression on his darkened face. "Excellent. Now, I'd like to talk to you about……future progenity."

* * *

Hinata hurried to the Raikage's tower. She stopped behind a man who was waiting outside the Raikage's office.

"What is it, slave?" The man demanded.

Hinata deliberately kept her eyes downcast, knowing that to look anyone else in the eye other than Naruto could cause a beating.

"Ano, I just have a message for m-my m-m-master." Hinata stumbled over the last word, unused to using it in reference to Naruto.

The man grinned lecherously at her. "Well, it seems he's in a meeting." He grabbed her by the arm. "In the meantime, you can entertain me."

Hinata ripped her arm out of the man's grip. For a split second, she debated drawing the hidden twin zai (plural form of sai, the weapon) hidden under the sleeves covering her forearms her forearms, that Naruto had given her (another illegal action on his part; slaves were forbidden from wielding, or even learning to wield weapons. She decided against it in a split second and turned to ran. Hinata had barely taken two steps when the man grabbed a handful of her dark-blue hair and yanked backwards.

Hinata lashed out, but the man caught her wrist and pinned her to the floor. With his other hand, he backhanded her, the rings on his fingers carving two gouges in her cheek.

The man fell on top of Hinata, preventing her from getting up.

"A feisty one, eh?" He whispered. "Good. I like the ones with life in them."

* * *

Naruto walked out of the Raikage's office, a troubled look on his face. _I don't know if I can look at Hinata the same way, now. Huh?_

Naruto tilted his head to the side. _I thought I heard something…………there it was again!_

Naruto realized someone was screaming his name in desperation. He immediately ran off in the direction of the voice. Rounding a corner, Naruto's blood boiled at what he saw.

Naruto saw a man pinning Hinata to the floor, a rod of flesh pointed straight at her. Her pants were pulled down to her ankles, and her face was bleeding.

Blood.

Hinata's blood.

Hinata's red blood.

Naruto's vision glazed over, and the world seemed to gain a crimson tint.

* * *

The Raikage felt a large burst of power, and the door to his office slammed open. _Kirabi? No……it feels weaker than Kirabi, more like Yugito. Odd, Yugito usually doesn't get mad easily. Who could it be?_

He didn't have to wonder long as Naruto, bearing a single tail of the Kyuubi's chakra coat, dragged in an armless, legless, whimpering man. The amputations seemed to have been cauterized by the sheer potency of the demonic chakra, preventing the man from bleeding to death.

The Raikage raised an eyebrow. He recognized the man. "Naruto, why do you have one of my top lieutenants writhing on the floor?" He asked calmly.

Naruto growled. "He was…damaging my property. The property we were discussing before." Saying that he was about to rape Hinata would appear to be personal, and the Raikage did not favor emotional outbursts.

The Raikage sighed. He had given all his men orders to not touch the Hyuga. What part of that didn't they understand? E hated to lose such valuable men, but it was their own fault if they failed to obey orders. "Very well. Dispose of him."

Naruto nodded, and before the man could scream a claw of orange youkai reached out and crushed his head, popping it like a grape. "Thank you, Raikage-sama." Mentally, Naruto wondered what he was thinking the Raikage for. _Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's just protocol._

"Dismissed."

* * *

Jumping across the rooftops, Naruto quickly caught up with the Kage Bushin who was carrying Hinata home. With a gentle Kawarimi no Jutsu, Naruto switched places with the clone so that he was carrying Hinata.

He carried a shaking Hinata to his room. _Don't worry, the bastard is dead_. Naruto gently cleaned out the wound on Hinata's face, and winced. _That will definitely scar up._

Naruto gently tucked Hinata into the bed. "Goodnight, Hinata." When she didn't respond, Naruto got really scared. Hinata always said goodnight to him.

_Man, too much stuff is going on. First the Raikage pretty much shoves __**that**__ in my face, now this. _

* * *

_Later that night…_

Naruto shot up when he heard Hinata's scream. He paused only to grab his katana from its place besides his bed before dashing off to Hinata's room.

Naruto burst through the door to Hinata's room. "Hinata, what's wrong!" He shouted.

Hinata was trembling under the covers, tears wetting the bandages on one side of her face. "N-No-Nothing, N-Naruto. J-Just bad d-dreams."

Naruto resheathed his katana. "Oh." He turned to leave.

"N-Naruto, wait!" Hinata suddenly called out. Naruto turned back around, and Hinata flushed. "A-Ano, c-can you s-s-sleep w-with me, N-N-Naruto? To k-keep the n-nightmares away?"

_Why would my presence help keep nightmares away? _Naruto wondered. "Okaaaay." He got into bed with Hinata, sliding himself under the covers and hugging Hinata.

"Shhhhhhhhhh. It's okay, Hinata." Naruto whispered. "I promise I'll always protect you."_ Why does this feel familiar?_

* * *

**AN: Too short, I know. I'm really focused on Demon Brothers of Konoha, I'll try to put more time into this, as well.**

**In case you didn't realize it (but you'd have to be pretty fucking retarded not to, or I'm a fucking bad writer, probably the latter) Hinata wasn't raped, just came really close. This will be very important in later chapters.**

**Remember to review so that I can improve on future chapters!**


	3. Chapter 3: A New Journey

**A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, multiple severe adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

Review response:

**Jaytang:**

I think you guys are misunderstanding something, due to my own lack of explanation. Naruto and Hinata's memories have not been changed or altered in any way. The reason why they cannot fully remember each other, or their lives in Konoha, is because they were too _young_.

**NEW: **

**I do not own Naruto. If I did, when Sakura told Naruto she loved him, he would have punched her in the face as hard as he could (Which is pretty damn hard when he's in Perfect Sage Mode) and asked her how it felt. **

**[Spoiler alert]: Sakura must die. She just offered to join Sasuke and ditch Konoha a second time. Yeah, that's right, the ungrateful, stupid bitch. (I really want Sasuke to kill her instead of just knocking her out, this time.) I just hope all the NaruSaku fans shut the hell up, now. NaruHina forever!**

**Well, you guys voted, and here it is!**

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

**2/18/2010**

* * *

Chapter 3: A New Journey

Naruto lay awake in bed, holding onto his slave and watching her sleep. The look on face was peaceful, despite the twin gouges running down one side of her face. Naruto gently checked the wound. _Good, it's not getting infected._

Naruto gently caressed Hinata's cheek, but she suddenly flinched away, still asleep. A whimper of fear escaped her throat, and she jerked her head from side to side. Her dark blue hair swung around wildly as her limbs jerked and flailed wildly as Hinata tried to escape from some terrifying dream.

Almost immediately, Naruto shook her, trying to wake her.

Hinata's lavender eyes shot open, full of fear but empty of recognition. She screamed and tried to push Naruto away.

Naruto just hugged her tighter and shushed her. "It's okay, Hinata, its just me."

Hinata's struggles abruptly stopped as she seemed to collapse into Naruto, crying into his chest and clutching him fiercely.

"Why didn't you fight back? You didn't even try to protect yourself." Naruto said, a slight tinge of accusation in his voice. He immediately berated himself when he saw tears welling up in Hinata's eyes again.

"Ano, I d-didn't…d-d-didn't want y-you to g-get in t-t-trouble." Hinata explained between sobs. "I just tr-tried to r-run a-a-away, so n-n-no one w-would know th-that I learned to f-f-fight."

Naruto frowned as he allowed Hinata and him to embrace again. _That's just wrong, to have to worry about the consequences of defending yourself._

* * *

_Upon approaching sexual maturity, the female fox will generally enter into a short period of heat every four to six months. These periods may be as short as a day or as long as two weeks. However, vixens that have just recently begun to reach sexual maturity will almost always have shorter heats. During this time, the vixen will be very affectionate with her similarly monogamous mate, releasing hormones that stimulate the male into coitus. The vixen will be easily excited, and—_

Naruto slammed the book shut as he shot to his feet. "Damn it! Why do I have to read this crap, Yugito-sensei?"

The cat jinchuriki, who was idly sipping on a carton of milk, calmly pushed him back into the chair. "Because it is the best way we can begin to understand the creatures sealed within us. Understanding what lies within us is the first step to understanding ourselves. Also, understanding the being inside you will help you to form rapport with them. It is far easier to draw on a demon's power when it is freely lent instead of forcefully taken."

"But I don't need the kitsune-baka's permission to use his chakra! And this is basically porn! Furry, fuzzy, hairy animal porn!" Naruto protested in outrage.

"Little baby demons have to come from somewhere. Besides, this information may come in handy someday."

"But, but—"

Yugito sighed in exasperation. "Naruto-kun, I promise someday you'll be grateful that you learned this stuff, alright?"

"But—"

Yugito glared at her fellow blonde for the first time. "Honor is irrelevant to a ninja, a shinobi kills in the dark, with poison or a stab in the back. But questioning a true ninja's given word is tantamount to asking for a duel to the death."

Naruto gulped. Sometimes, his fellow jinchuriki could get really scary. Besides, he admitted to himself, he kind of deserved it. It was somewhat hypocritical of his, after all, wasn't his a part of his own nindo: to never give up and never go back on his word? With a sigh, he sat back down and opened the book again to continue reading.

* * *

_A few weeks later…_

"Raikage-sama, there is a message from Naruto-san." The messenger said, holding a letter.

E sighed. Whenever Naruto came into the equation, things were never boring. "Let me see that." He said irritable as he snatched the letter out of the messenger's hand, who scurried away fearfully.

E ripped open the envelope and began to read.

_Raikage-sama,_

_It has come to my attention that you have been keeping secrets from me. Big secrets. For almost all of my life I have been Yotsuki Naruto, one of your main retainers and jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. But it never felt right; something always felt out of place. I did a little digging into the secret mission archives, and came upon something very interesting. You know, I recall a time, almost directly after you told me about my demonic resident, when I asked you if there was anything else that you knew that I would want to know. At the time, you looked me right in the eyes and said no._

_Don't you think I would have liked to have known my true heritage? How about my true country of birth? Did you really think I would never wonder who my parents were? Yes, I know exactly who I am now. Namikaze Naruto of Konoha, son of Namikaze Minato, Fourth Hokage of Konoha, and Uzumaki Kushina of __Uzu no Kuni __**(Land of Whirlpools)**__. And another little interesting fact that you forgot to mention: the 'slave' you gave me is actually the heiress of one of the most important clans in Konoha, the Hyuga. When you first instructed me to get to know her on a 'more personal level', I was suspicious, but I now see what you planned._

_I can only assume that Konoha does not know of your involvement in our kidnapping. Imagine the repercussions if Konoha were to learn that an allied nation was behind the disappearance (and assumed death) of the son of the Yondaime Hokage and heiress of the Hyuga Clan. Realizing what truly happened would be quite traumatizing for the Leaf Village…imagine if they decided to cut off all trade with the Land of Lightning? Over 75 percent of Cloud's revenue, vanished in an instant._

_I can never truly fit in with the rest of Kumogakure. Your beliefs and lifestyle is just far too different from my own. While I never saw you as a source of emotional support, I will admit that you have done a fine job in teaching me what I need to survive in the shinobi world. It's too bad you didn't take your own advice: "Never assume your others are stupid." You failed to consider the possibility that I would have my own thoughts and agendas._

_I leaving Kumo. I think we both know where I'm going to go, the one place where I will be accepted immediately, where I will be respected for my heritage instead of being looked upon in fear for serving under a man who rules with terror. I am going to Konoha, and I am taking the Hyuga with me._

_Now, you don't want your country to fail economically and I don't want hunter-nin coming after me. If you do not send anyone after me, then I will not tell Konoha anything about your involvement in our disappearance or any secrets about the Village Hidden in the Clouds. If you do, however, try to stop me, and I survive, you will have made a lifelong enemy of one who holds the most powerful force on Earth._

_So it's a gamble, Raikage-sama. Which way do you want to roll the dice?_

The Raikage unintentionally crinkled the paper into a miniscule ball by accidentally releasing a large amount of lightning chakra into it as he gritted his teeth. There was no way in hell he could afford to lose Naruto or the Hyuga, let alone allow them to join another village. But on the other hand, Kumokagure no Sato was very dependent on resources imported from Konoha, particularly with the current trade agreement.

"Send all available four-man teams to go after Naruto and his slave, protocol _Mujitsu_. I want their heads." He ordered. E actually felt a little bad about this. He actually thought of Naruto a little fondly, and his respect for the boy had certainly risen after he pulled a gambit like this. Still, the Raikage could not allow his feelings to interfere with what was best for his village. A single unit should be more than enough to take out two children. Even if the genin/chunin of the team failed, the jonin-sensei alone should be strong enough.

Failure would be absolutely unacceptable. Sending every single available team might be overkill, but the Raikage knew that Naruto would be making a large mass of shadow clones, some under a henge, to serve as a diversion. Every available team would be necessary to catch the original Naruto.

His right hand man gulped. "Y-Y-yes, s-sir!" He stammered. That protocol was complete overkill, but he would have to be insane to say that to the Raikage's face. The Raikage did not like to be insulted, and he usually killed people he didn't like.

* * *

_In the wilds…_

"Alright, Hinata, lets set up camp for the night." Naruto said cheerfully. He was actually happy to be out of Kumo. He didn't know how much he hated the industrial, urban settings until he spent some time in the wild, with just the cool night air, the trees, the moon and the stars, and Hinata. Hopefully Konoha would be like this. It was unreasonable to expect there to be no buildings at all, but maybe there would be at least some greenery.

"Okay, N-Naruto." Hinata replied.

It had been three weeks since they left Kumo, and no hunter-nin had come after them. In maybe another six to seven weeks they would reach Konoha, possibly less. Naruto sort of had a plan worked out: show up in Konoha, prove his ancestry, and become a ninja of the Leaf. The only problem was that Hinata didn't know any of this; she thought they were on a camping trip. Naruto intended to fix that, immediately.

Naruto looked at Hinata over the fire. "So, Hinata…tell me honestly, how do you feel about Kumokagure no Sato. Your true opinion, now."

Hinata flinched. "A-Ano, umm…" Hinata felt like she could trust Naruto with her true thoughts. "I g-guess I don't l-like it. Everyone a-acts so cold." She admitted.

Staring off into the fire, Naruto nodded. "Hinata…what would you do if you found out you had family?"

Naruto looked up to see Hinata's shocked face. Sighing, he went into a long explanation of their true home and how they had ended up in Kumo. He made sure to leave out certain parts like his status as a Jinchuriki. At the end, Naruto repeated his original question.

Hinata tilted her head to the side. "Well, they w-would be related to me by b-blood, but I could never really see them as f-family. I really don't r-remember them raising me or anything."

Naruto shrugged. "Then what do you want to do when we get to Konoha?"

Hinata blushed as she looked down. "Um, I g-g-guess I c-could stay w-with y-you, if i-i-it's a-alright…" She stammered.

"Eh, Hinata…" Naruto trailed off, not sure how to explain this. "You don't have to, you know, stay with me if you don't want to. You're not a slave anymore; you can do whatever you want." He said, hoping the concept wouldn't be too foreign to her.

Hinata had a confused look on her face. "But I w-want to stay with you, Naruto."

Naruto let it drop at that. "Okay, then." Now that he thought about it, maybe it was better if they stayed together. Hinata's psyche was still frail after her almost-rape. Basically the only person she was comfortable around was Naruto, and even still she had a nervous stutter. Naruto was also afraid that she still had the 'slave-mindset'. What if someone took advantage of her docility? No, it was far better to keep Hinata close to him. Naruto ignored the part of his mind that told him that he secretly wanted to be close to Hinata.

* * *

Naruto groaned. He did not want to have to deal with this. In the last few days, he had noticed that he and Hinata were being followed.

Logically, they would believe that their main concern was Naruto, as no one knew that Naruto had taught Hinata some small jutsu and zai kata training. Still, Naruto thought that he had a better chance if he faced the team alone, rather than with Hinata. He was worried that he wouldn't be able to fight efficiently if he had to worry about Hinata.

"Hinata, there are people following us. I'm going to try to take them out." Naruto stated bluntly.

"Ano, N-Naruto…good luck and be s-safe." Hinata said, pushing her forefingers together and looking down.

Naruto grinned. On complete impulse he said: "Of course. I want to come back to you, don't I?"

Hinata blushed tremendously as her blonde crush jumped off. _He cares for me! Was that a hint? Does Naruto-kun like me in that way? Oh, I hope so…_

* * *

The Kumo team looked at each other from underneath their porcelain masks. They were dangerously close to the border of Fire and Lighting, and if they were caught in Fire territory it could be seen as an act of war. Even among allied countries, trespassing shinobi were not looked upon kindly. Thus the reason for the masks and hidden headbands. Hawk, Mouse, Goat, and Bear. One jonin, one chunin, and two genin. One team, one mission, and two targets.

Bear was the tallest, and his size easily fit his mask's namesake. A giant, hulking man, Bear's specialty was his physical strength. While weak in ninjutsu and genjutsu, Bear was far faster than someone of his size would seem to be, so he specialized in taijutsu. Somewhat of a berserker, Bear could ignore all pain or fatigue while in the heat of battle.

Hawk was the next tallest, although at almost six feet his height was still nothing to sneeze at. A secretive man, Hawk was known for his lecherous tendencies. However, he did not attain his jonin rank so lightly. He was one of the most skilled jonin in Kumo, and always made sure the mission came first before his own cravings, although he wasn't averse to satisfying both at once.

Goat was the youngest, a teenage boy just finishing puberty. He was the team's sensor-nin. He was also a skilled long range fighter. Using a special hooked johyo **(rope dart, sorry, no good English translation)** he could easily kill at a long distance with minimal effort.

Mouse was the smallest. She was a small, petite woman, barely into her twenties. Her specialty was ninjutsu. Lightning based ninjutsu, to be precise. Despite her size, her chakra coils were very large and she could use multiple high rank ninjutsu at a time without getting fatigued. Although her endurance and pain tolerance was low, she was usually quick enough to finish off an enemy before she could even be hit.

Suddenly Hawk, the leader, held up a hand, and the team immediately came to a halt. He pointed to Mouse and Bear, and pointed in one direction. The two indicated shinobi quickly jumped off in that direction. Hawk pointed to Goat, then to himself, indicating that they should go another way.

* * *

Being the chunin, Mouse was the leader of the pair. Coming upon a clearing, Mouse and Bear saw two children sleeping in two separate sleeping bags.

"It would be best to take them out while they are sleeping." Mouse noted in a quiet, feminine voice.

"Agreed." Bear noted with a deep rumble. They both wondered where their leader, Hawk, and their other teammate, Goat, could be, but decided it wasn't important.

Bear stealthily crept over to the blonde boy, and Hawk did the same with the dark-blue haired girl. In perfect synchronization, both stabbed down with a kunai.

Of course, it didn't exactly go as planned.

Naruto, having feigned sleep, quickly rolled to the side and drew the katana he had hidden under the covers. Stabbing upwards, he impaled the man through the gut. As the man fell, Naruto finished him with a slash to the throat as he stood up.

Mouse also had problems. Upon stabbing the girl in the throat, her image wavered into the blonde boy, and then turned to smoke. Mouse looked up to find her comrade already dead.

Naruto was calmly facing her, both hands atop the hilt of his katana, which was stuck in the ground, waiting for her to make a move.

Mouse obliged. Going through five seals, Boar-Ram-Snake-Horse-Dragon, she called out: "Raiton: Jibashi **(Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder)**!" A bolt of lightning shot from her hands and flashed towards Naruto, faster than he could move out the way. He only had time to lift his hands, as if to cover his face, as the bolt of electricity flew towards him.

* * *

"Sensei, what are we doing? Why did you send Ku…Mouse and Bear off?" Goat asked curiously, belatedly remembering the no-names policy.

The taller ninja seemed to be in a good mood. Goat was his favorite student, and also one with the least scruples. "You'll see."

Soon, the two found a clearing, oblivious to the fact that it was almost exactly the same as the one their teammates had entered. A girl with dark blue hair was tending the fire. The two tents around the fire were standard issue; large enough for a single sleeping bag. The entrance had a zipper on the inside for privacy.

"Oh, I see how it is." The younger ninja commented, knowing his sensei's pedophilic tendencies. "You know, us teenage boys are supposed to think with our little heads. You experienced ninja should think with the head on your shoulders, not the other way around. Besides…" He shifted nervously. "…did you hear what happened to Tekana-sama? I hear he tried something like this, and then the demon boy found him."

Quite frankly, it was hard to _not_ hear what happened to the Raikage's Second Lieutenant. It was even harder to _not_ _see_ what had happened to him; the Raikage had impaled what was left of the body on a meat hook and left it hanging in the middle of the village, a reminder to never go against the Raikage's orders.

Still, Hawk grinned under his mask. "The Raikage himself ordered the hit on these two. I don't think he cares anymore about this one. Besides, I'd like to think trained Mouse and Bear well enough to take out a single brat, jinchuriki or not. Besides, I have to let off steam one way or another. Might as well be with this girl."

Goat paused at the implication that he or one of his teammates might be used instead. It hadn't happened yet, and he intended to keep it that way. He shrugged. "Fine. It's not like it will take that long."

"That's the spirit! Wait…you little bastard." The older man grumbled good naturedly at the jab at his stamina as he jumped and landed in the middle of the clearing, causing the slave to look up.

He was just about to say something terrifying, cool, or scary, when the girl collapsed with a horrified look on her face. Hawk sweatdropped behind his mask. He could almost hear his student laughing.

Hawk sighed. It didn't matter to him if she was conscious or not. He picked her up and dragged her into the tent, turning around to zip it up.

* * *

The woman wearing the mouse mask cried out as electricity course through her body. The electricity scrambled her nervous system and her muscles twitched spastically, no longer under her control. Severe scorch marks covering her body and useless, twitching, muscles; the woman fell to the wet ground, a making a splash in the wide, inch deep puddle. _Water? _She wondered, dazed. _But it hasn't rained in days…_

"Suiton: Mizu Goben **(Water Release: Pool of Water)**." Naruto explained, pulling his sword out of the ground. He was not concerned; he knew she wouldn't be getting up after being hit by her own jutsu. "Our village…your village's ninja is rather predicable in the techniques we use. Immediately after killing your friend, I made a pool of water, which you failed to see. I stuck my sword in the ground, which attracted the lightning more strongly than did my body. The current ran down the metal in the sword and into the water; which your feet were submerged in. I was unaffected because I used chakra to stay on the surface of the water, not quite touching it."

**(Similar to the thing Shikamaru uses against Kakuzu's lightning, in the anime. This is actually a ninjutsu, not releasing a scroll's contents.)**

Naruto swept downwards and beheaded the woman with a single slash. He disliked killing people, but knew it was necessary. He was absentmindedly cleaning his sword on the woman's clothing when his eyes suddenly shot open. Why would the Raikage only send two people? Because he wouldn't! With a shout of worry, Naruto leaped off in the direction of the original camp, his decision to make a false camp so far away from Hinata coming back to bite him in the ass.

* * *

Hinata willed herself to act normally as she sensed two people at the edge of the camp. _What do I do, what do I do, what do I do? They were supposed to go after Naruto-kun! Wait, maybe there's more of them! _

When a tall man jumped into Hinata's sight, she could practically sense the depraved lust his eyes held hidden behind the mask. **(This is just Hinata's paranoia,; it just happens to be true in this circumstance. Very, very important to note this. Hinata can't even see through the mask)** Hinata pretended to collapse to the floor, seemingly unconscious. She forced herself to not react as she was picked up.

_Naruto-kun said he wanted to come back to me! I have to stay alive so that I can be with Naruto-kun…_

When she was set down, Hinata waited for the man to set her down and turn around before she flicked her wrists, two twin zai silently sliding from the concealed sheaths hidden by her long sleeves. Using the sound of the moving zipper to mask her shuffling, Hinata slipped behind the man.

Without fanfare, Hinata slammed both blades into the upper left side of man's back, unsure of the exact location of the heart. He gasped in pain as he twisted, ripping the handles from Hinata's grasp. With a smooth motion that came with years of experience, Hawk smoothly drew a kunai and channeled lightning chakra as he stabbed Hinata with it.

Hinata's world exploded in pain. Ripping, searing, tearing pain. Hinata opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She looked down, and the man's hand had impaled her stomach to the wrist. The blade was probably sticking out of her back.

With a grunt, the man collapsed, his last breath spent to complete his mission. Hinata's strikes had obviously hit something very vital. As he fell, his hand came out of Hinata's body, tearing the large hole slightly to the side. Hinata pressed both hands to her stomach as she tried to stop the massive flow of her own blood, but it seemed useless. _Naruto-kun…_

* * *

Goat nervously shifted side to side as he felt a large chakra source approach. He estimated the person to be close to chunin level skill. By himself, he was unlikely to prevail against an opponent with this much strength. However, if his sensei helped him fight, victory would practically be assured. Of course, there was the slight problem of his sensei not being here…

The genin sighed from his concealed. At the rate the target was approaching, he would have to fight him on his own. But what really concerned him was that he didn't sense Bear or Mouse. Did the target take them out already? Frankly, his chances were looking slimmer and slimmer.

Suddenly, he threw himself to the side as a shower of shuriken rained upon the place he had been standing. _Damn it, I wasn't focusing! _He unlooped the johyo from its place at his right hip, lengthening the slack so that it was approximately the same distance as his hands, arms fully stretched out. Goat warily appraised his opponent as they began to circle each other.

Naruto had his katana out, the cord that ran through the hilt wrapped around his right wrist. This way he could release it to quickly make handseals, and once he was done he could quickly flick it back into his hand. This eliminated the need to sheath and draw the sword in the middle of combat. His two-handed grip was neither too tight nor too lose.

"Tell me where my slave is, and I will give you the mercy of a quick death." Naruto said after a moment. He could not afford to let even one of his opponents escape alive, they would alert all nearby teams, but there was no reason for a prolonged death.

Goat slumped his shoulders, as if finding his chances too slim to bear. "She is—" Suddenly, against the tempo of his words, he flicked the bladed hook at Naruto, who was caught off guard. Normally, Naruto could have easily parried and cut the rope, leaving the metal implement useless, but all he could do was sidestep.

Instead of striking him in the face, the bladed hook flew past Naruto and latched onto the corner of the tent. Scowling behind his mask, Goat yanked back on the rope, intending to retrieve the weapon so he could attack again. The metal tip got caught on the canvas of the tent, and Goat ended up yanking the entire tent over, revealing it's dying and dead occupants. Goat froze immediately upon seeing the mass of blood. His sensei, dead? As such, he was completely unprepared when Naruto's knee met his sternum with a violent strike. He fell backwards, clutching his chest and gasping for air. Naruto then stomped on his shoulder, and felt something break with a satisfying crack.

Naruto frowned. He had seen the look of shock on his opponents face and capitalized on the moment. The Goat-masked guy wouldn't be standing up for quite a while.

Naruto glanced over his shoulder to see what had caused his opponent to hesitate so badly. He, too, froze upon seeing the bloody occupants. Unlike Goat, however, his attention was centered on a certain pale-eyed girl with dark-blue hair. His blue eye immediately alighted on the gaping wound in Hinata's stomach.

He turned back to face his downed opponent, but his cold blue eyes were no longer blue. Instead, they were dark red, with slits for pupils. The three whisker marks on each cheek gained definition, and his canines elongated.

Goat gasped, but not because of pain this time. _Impossible! The level of his power just shot up incredibly. No human has that kind of power! What is this evil feeling? This is…the power of a jinchuriki!_

In horror, the last thing he was slitted red eyes before he saw no more.

* * *

Naruto, his rage quickly sated, rushed over to Hinata as his features returned to normal, his eyes returning to a sky blue and his whisker marks dimming. He carelessly shoved the older corpse away as he crouched down to check Hinata. He ripped open her bloodstained shift so he could get a better view of her injuries.

Hinata coughed weakly, blowing a bubble of blood out of the corner of her mouth. The blood flow coming out of the gaping hole in her stomach had slowed greatly, but that was most likely due to her massive blood loss.

"Hinata! Oh, Kami, Hinata…" Naruto trailed off, seeing the extent of her injuries.

Somehow, Hinata found it within herself to smile. "I'm n-not going to m-make, it, a-am I. Tell me the t-truth, N-Naruto."

Naruto shook his head. "Your injuries are severe, but you can pull through! You have to, Hinata…" He trailed off pleadingly.

"I can't…can I do—" Hinata had a coughing fit, spraying blood everywhere as her body seized up. When she was finished, she continued. "…c-can I s-say one thing?"

Naruto nodded solemnly. "Anything, Hinata, anything."

"I a-always w-wanted to say…" Hinata took a deep breath, and Naruto waited for her to curse him, to express her disgust or hatred at him for keeping her as a slave. "…Naruto-kun."

Hinata smiled in irony as her vision started to go dark. _Even here, lying on my back about to die, I can't tell him my real feelings. I can't tell him that I love him._ Hinata looked at the blonde's whisker-lined face._ The last thing I see before I die is you, Naruto-kun. At least you know…that I don't hate you…if only you knew how much the opposite is true._

Her breath came shorter and shorter until it finally stopped. Naruto was frozen with shock and disbelief. Hinata…respected him? Liked him? The suffix "-kun" was only used for males who the user held affection for. Naruto couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the fact that Hinata thought of him fondly, instead of hating him.

And now she was dead.

"No…" Naruto muttered, and his voice began to pick up. "No! No, No, NO, NO, **NOOOOOO!"** He screamed his denial into the sky as an orange aura started to form around him for the second time that day.

Half-formed thoughts flitted throughout his distraught mind, but his consciousness locked onto one fact: the Kyuubi's youkai allowed him to heal lethal injuries on himself. Would it work for another?

With nothing to lose, Naruto forced the potent chakra into Hinata's body [1]. He watched in despair as the energy began to corrode Hinata's body, widening the wounds instead of closing them. The blonde jinchuriki ignored the spiteful voice in his mind, telling him to stop, that Hinata wasn't worth it, and continued to push more youkai into Hinata's corpse.

Naruto looked at her face, serene in death. He could not allow her to pass from this world. He would not.

Naruto did not know how long he kneeled there, letting insane amounts of demonic chakra flow into Hinata. It felt like an eternity, but it was probably less than 60 seconds.

There was no indication that anything had changed; no feeling of euphoria, no sudden pulse in the air, no feeling of the barrier between possible and impossible being broken. Nothing happened…except Hinata grew two fox ears on the top of her head.

The fur on the triangular ears was the same dark blue as Hinata's hair, perhaps just a shade lighter. A loud rip could be heard as Hinata's pants ripped as well, to reveal a long, furry, four feet long, dark-blue tail.

Hinata's wounds widened at a slower pace, eventually stopping completely. The edges of the wounds seemed to bubble, and her pale flesh began to knit together, healing. Fresh skin began to form over her wounds, and Hinata began coughing violently as her body expelled the blood in her lungs in the only manner it knew how. Once all the fluid was gone, Hinata continued breathing at a quickened but steady rate.

Even though she was unconscious, her eyes shot open, revealing red vertical pupil-like slits in the middle of her light lavender eyes.

Naruto eagerly grabbed her wrist, letting the youkai flowing through him slow to a trickle, then stop. Hinata had a very rapid pulse, dangerously so, yet Naruto was beyond ecstatic. A fast pulse was better than no pulse at all.

Naruto grinned a split second before he fell unconscious, exhausted by earlier events and strained from having to hold a steady flow of foreign chakra.

_Repercussions. The generally unintended results of actions we take. Also known as the things that come back to bite us in the ass. Generally unavoidable, but as they say, hindsight is 20/20._

* * *

**AN: **

**[1]: The human brain can last around two to three minutes without a fresh supply of oxygen before brain cells begin to die. If Naruto could successfully restart Hinata's vital processes like breathing and heart-beating; she would suffer no long term damage after coming back to life.**

**Oh shit… Hinata's now a kitsune hanyou?**

**I'm going to start introducing some very adult themes in later chapters. If you want a hint of future events, remember the book Naruto was reading…and what Hinata is, now…**


	4. Chapter 4: The Leaf!

**A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, multiple severe adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

Review response:

NarutoDragon:

Hm

**Are you serious? Two letters? Seriously, please don't review if you're only going to leave one word.**

StaplersBreak

Meh...manga updates are just fascinating, huh? Go Sakura! I like NaruHina, but NaruSaku better since Hinata has all the personality of a limp lemming. In canon, anyway.

**My reply may be offensive, but quite frankly, I do not care. You…are the kind of person who makes arguing on the internet pointless, but here goes. What has Sakura even done, ever? Don't tell me she helped kill Sasori, Chiyo did almost all the work. Pretty much 90% of all of Konoha's problems would be solved if she just godamn killed Sasuke, but she couldn't fucking do it. So, no, Sakura is pathetic. And Hinata? No, she would never do something like sacrifice her life for the person she loves, would she? [epic sarcasm] Before you say something, please check if it's actually true. People like you say the world is flat or that other planets don't exist. As a matter of fact, your review pissed me off more than NarutoDragon's review…and that's saying something. By the way, is the business end of a 12-gauge shotgun 'fascinating' to you as well, huh? Let me introduce you to my leettle friend…**

**Oh, and by the way, if you PM someone, at least have the common courtesy to enable PMs on your own account so that I can reply. Heh heh, I made a funny! I just accused some random woman who spouts nonsense to me of having PMS! Heh, heh,...um...shit...those of you with two X chromosomes, please don't kill me.**

Jaytang:

**As I expected there were a lot of varied opinions of the last chapter. Some were really good, and I appreciate everyone who took the time to press the little green button. I also took a crapload of flak, but that's okay. It actually helps me improve my writing.**

**NEW: **

**Sorry I couldn't get this chapter out for a while. I've been really busy with school, science fair, Academic Decathlon, and going to Science Symposium in Reno, Nevada. Yep, got lots of shit going on, and lucky it's missing the fan (for now). As my form of an apology, I'm making this chapter extra long!**

**[Spoiler Alert]**

**I do not own Naruto. If I did, when Sakura told Naruto she loved him, he would have punched her in the face as hard as he could (Which is pretty damn hard when he's in Perfect Sage Mode) and asked her how it felt. **

**And why am I, for some reason, completely unsurprised that Sakura failed to have the determination to kill Sasuke? I mean, seriously? I know she's bipolar and all, but she is now officially a stupid bitch. Sasuke's stupid bitch, I might add.**

**New poll! Once I'm done with either this story or Demon Brothers of Konoha, I'll start on the next fic. You decide!**

**Starting in this chapter, the reasons why this fic is rated M are really going to start. As a lot of you have guessed, Hinata behavior is definitely going to be affected by her new form, and Naruto's in for a wild ride. This chapter is has LOL…Lots of Lemons. **

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

**3/1/2010**

* * *

Chapter 4: The Leaf

The first thing Hinata noticed was the warmth, and the mesmerizing smell. She was laying on something warm, but her back was cold. Hinata snuggled deeper into the warmth. The smell was like nothing else she had ever experienced. It was a deep, rich scent, so foreign that Hinata couldn't begin to name it, but at the same time it felt so achingly familiar, so _right_. Hinata nuzzled deeper into her warm, scented pillow.

Hinata gave a soft moan as she woke up a little bit more, slightly confused as to why she was sleeping in such an awkward position. _Sleeping? I died! _Suddenly, the memories of the previous day rushed into her, and her eyes shot wide open. The first thing she saw was Naruto's face, calm in slumber.

Hinata immediately blushed, even though Naruto was still asleep. _I'm alive! Naruto-kun! Did you heal me, Naruto-kun?_ She was very, very embarrassed about the events of last night. Oh, no, not the evil man's intentions with her or the fact that she had killed him, that was just necessity. No, what Hinata was embarrassed about was that Naruto now knew that she _liked_ him! _Oh, Naruto-kun, if you only knew how much…_

She stared in fascination at the three whisker-marks on each cheek, enjoying the gentle rise and fall of his chest as a result of his breathing. His eyelids twitched slightly; he was probably having a dream. Hinata hoped it was pleasant. She took a deep breath, and realized the attractive scent was coming from Naruto. _I really should get off of him before he wakes up…_Hinata thought guiltily. But staring at Naruto was just so perfect!

At least until Naruto's eyes opened.

To say he was surprised to see Hinata staring at him would be a slight understatement. "Um…hi?" He said.

_He's looking…at me…_ Hinata turned red and fainted, her head coming down to rest on Naruto's chest.

Naruto sweatdropped. _Um…o-kay? At least she didn't freak out about the whole fox ears/tail thing…or maybe she didn't notice._ He gently rolled Hinata over to the side, avoiding waking her, as he stood up and stretched his sore body. The previous night had been filled with trauma. Naruto, having quickly deduced what had happened with the other man in the tent, wondered how Hinata was dealing with her first kill. He also, really, really wanted to talk to her.

_Naruto-kun, huh?_

Naruto pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind; there where things to do. Forming a cross with the middle and index fingers of each hand, he quickly made a dozen shadow clones.

A few of them went to the fake camp Naruto had made the previous night. They were to dispose of the bodies by burial. If any other teams from Kumo came across the bodies, they would know their targets were close by (especially if the bodies were still fresh). Unfortunately, Naruto had to do this the old fashioned way, he did not know any Katon ninjutsu; besides, his element types were wind and water. Also, Naruto thought that the petite woman he fought the other day was about Hinata's size, just under five feet. It could be unscrupulous to strip a dead woman for just her clothing, but Naruto would be damned before he let Hinata get sick because she had no good clothes (having ripped Hinata's shift from last night in his frenzy to check her injuries). After that, both the woman and the man were going to be ten feet under the ground, with the other two men quickly joining them.

Naruto sighed. Digging graves was such hard work, especially with no shovels or digging tools. His clones would be forced to use their katana to loosen the ground, then scoop at it with their hands. Oh well, that was a major use of Kage Bushin, wasn't it? If he wasn't a shinobi, Naruto could make a fortune by providing cheap manual labor.

Within minutes, three clones came back, the ones not ordered to help bury the body. Instead, they were to loot the bodies.

"Got some dried meat, a few ration bars, and some fresh bottled water." One of the clones noted before all three dispelled. The aforementioned items, a single, closed scroll, and a folded set of clothes were left on the ground.

Naruto knew what was in the scroll, the shadow clones' memories having returned to him. In those scrolls were the masks and headbands of the Kumo-nin, as well as all weapons they had (not many, just standard issue kunai and a johyo). Naruto hoped they would help substantiate his background when he told his story to the Hokage. If nothing else, if Konoha rejected him and Hinata, they could be used or sold for quick cash.

Packing the miscellaneous items into a packing bag, Naruto picked up the clothes and brought them over to Hinata. He gently shook her shoulder, and her eyes opened halfway as she mumbled, "A little longer, Naruto-kun…" Her eyes shot open as she jumped to her feet. Her original training asserted itself in its original behaviors.

"I-I'm s-sorry, N-N-Naruto-sama—"

Naruto cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Actually…I'm okay with you calling me Naruto-kun, if you want." He grinned at her for multiple reasons; the main one being that she hadn't seemed to notices she had fox-like appendages, but she would definitely notice once she tried to put her pants on. Naruto gulped as his eyes began to catch the gentle rise of Hinata's breast, and he forced himself to look away as he proffered the clothes to Hinata. _Hinata will never return the depth of my feelings. It hurts so much to be near her and love her, without the ability to be with her. It doesn't matter, though, I will protect her. Emotions are useless byproducts of the sentimental mind._ _Shinobi have no emotions, I am a shinobi, I shall have no useless emotions…_He chanted to himself in his head.

Hinata flushed red, but she was really happy on the inside. She took the clothes and hugged them to her chest (thus lessening the distraction factor for Naruto) as a demure smile took over her face. _He doesn't mind that I like him! That's a start, right? _She thought giddily.

Naruto turned around so that she could change and waited for the bomb to go off.

A high pitched scream was soon heard, followed by a thump, and Naruto grinned. He just hoped Hinata hadn't hurt herself when she fainted.

* * *

After several moments of makeshift improvisation, there was now a tail hole in Hinata's new pants. This way, her tail could freely hang out without anybody getting a look at her butt.

Naruto turned around to see Hinata in her new clothes. They were just a tad loose, but they would do. The plain tan shit and pants matched well against her skin tones, and the black half-cloak that went over it lent a striking appearance. Said girl was nervously stroking her tail, surprised to find that she could feel it like it was a natural part of her body.

Naruto grinned, both at Hinata's cute expression and the fact that, by pure coincident, her clothes matched his black vest and pants. His grin disappeared when he thought he had a lot of explaining to do. _Uh…_

"So…I just thought of something" He said suddenly, as he walked up to Hinata. For some reason she turned dark red. "If you can call me Naruto-kun, then I get to call you Hinata-chan!" He said happily. Hinata's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she fainted…again. Luckily, Naruto caught her before she hit the ground. He was very confused.

* * *

_Two weeks later…_

"H-How's this, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked with a blush. Naruto slowly walked all around her, staring at her body.

"Yep, looks like you got the Henge no Jutsu down, alright." He nodded, and Hinata smiled in happiness. Naruto thought it was _very_ necessary to teach Hinata how to alter her appearance, as sane people considered a girl with a fox tail and ears to be highly unnatural. Also, it might clue people in to the fact that Hinata was now a hanyou, a half demon. Naruto didn't tell Hinata this part, or even the fact that he was a jinchuriki, and felt very guilty about this fact.

"A-Ano, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked as she released the jutsu, allowing her ears and tail to appear again.

"Yes, Hinata-chan?" Naruto said absentmindedly. _Hmm, actually I don't think this is going to work. Maintaining a Transformation Technique takes a lot of focus, especially over long periods of time, and some ninja can sense the use of a Henge no Jutsu. That's why shinobi usually use physical disguises or actual body manipulation to disguise themselves when in an infiltration and espionage mission. But there's no way in hell that we're gonna cut off Hinata's tail or ears…they make her look way too cute._

Because he was deep in thought, he hadn't realized that Hinata had approached him until she hugged him and started nuzzling her head into his chest. Naruto realized that Hinata had been very physically affectionate lately, not that Naruto minded in any way, shape, or form. However, he was worried because she wasn't acting like herself.

Hinata let out a pleased sound, somewhat of a purr, as Naruto hugged her with one arm while rubbing her back with the other. Her dark blue tail waved happily behind her and she pushed deeper into Naruto's chest. Naruto gulped as he felt her developing breasts against his own chest. Suddenly, Hinata seemed to snap out of it as she pulled back abruptly, her face red. She shook her head, as if to dispel a strong urge, and blushed darkly. "A-Ano, I w-was wondering why I-I have f-f-fox ears and a f-fox t-tail." She stuttered lamely. _What in the world possessed me to do that? Naruto-kun, that's what. He smells so goooood…no! He's probably just being nice to me out of pity; because he still feels guilty that I almost died._

_Ah, shit…_ Naruto and Hinata set up camp as Naruto reiterated how they were originally from Konoha, and how the Yondaime Hokage, Naruto's father, sealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune into him as a newborn. He then went on to explain that he naturally drew out miniscule portions of the Kyuubi's energy, allowing him to heal lethal injuries. Basically, after Naruto filled Hinata's chakra coils with demon chakra, Hinata also received the ability to naturally heal at incredible rates. However, she was now a kitsune hanyou, a half fox-demon.

At this point, they were in the tent together, as there was now only one tent and one sleeping bag. Naruto cringed as he finished his explanation, but Hinata took it in stride.

"R-Really? D-Demo, if y-you don't m-m-mind…can I see you use the Kyuubi?" Hinata asked hopefully. She felt nothing but gratitude (and still love) for Naruto for doing whatever he could to save her. Hinata had just wanted to get a better understanding of what she was, now.

"Um, I don't know…" Naruto trailed off; most of the times he had used the Kyuubi's chakra he was in a murderous rage. But that was usually because he got extremely angry in the first place, which caused him to go Kyuubi. Hinata gave him a pleading look and Naruto quickly caved in. "Okay."

Closing his eyes, Naruto made sure he had a tight grip on his impulses before channeling a trickle of his inner youkai. The demon fox cloak began to form around him, a dark orange aura, giving him pseudo-ears and a false tail. As usual, all of his senses heightened dramatically, particularly his smell.

Naruto's eyes widened as a delectable smell wafted into him. It was sweet without being overly cloying, powerful without being overwhelming. It smelled delicious. _MATE!_ His instincts screamed at him.

Hinata gasped as she felt Naruto's aura. It seemed to resonate deep within her, stirring her passions. Her body moved of its own volition as she nuzzled into Naruto again, tasting the Naruto's irresistible scent, and accidentally filling his head with her own scent. "You feel so warm…" Hinata mumbled, unsure if she was talking about Naruto's chakra or just plain Naruto.

"Nuuuhhhhh…" Naruto was unable to form words as his instincts told him to rip off Hinata's clothes and take her right now. He forced himself to stop accessing the power of his fuzzy tenant, and was able to think a little bit more clearly, although his urges remained in full force. He quickly stiffened, though, at Hinata's next action.

Hinata giggled softly as she slipped a hand into Naruto's shirt, feeling his toned muscles. He didn't have too much muscle mass, as he was only twelve, but he was fairly toned. The though alone nearly made Hinata drool as she felt a fire racing through her loins, dangerous flames that only Naruto could quench.

_Hinata-chan's going through heat!_ Naruto realized with worry, recalling what he had once learned about foxes and their mating habits, which apparently applied to half-fox-demons as well. He tried to remember something else that would help. _Well, let's see, I'm certainly excited, and so is Hinata-chan…_

Said hanyou gave another delicious purr that nearly drove Naruto insane. He realized that he had his hand was gently caressing a firm, naked asscheek. Somehow, they had both lost their shirts, and Hinata's pants and unmentionables were on the other side of the tent. Naruto was laying on top Hinata, and both were panting with desire as Hinata fumbled with Naruto's pants.

Naruto bit his tongue, _**hard**_. He used the pain to help distract himself as he put his hand over Hinata's. Her pale lavender eyes shot up to meet his.

"Hinata-chan, this isn't you. Your hormones are getting the best of you."

Hinata shook her head adamantly, looking into Naruto's blue eyes with a pleading look. "No, I w-want this. I want you, N-Naru-kun. You and o-only you." Naruto felt himself twitch. She really wanted him! Not because the Raikage wanted Byakuagn babies, not because she was suffering from heat and was going to mate with the nearest male, but because (Naruto figured it out now) she loved him!

"W-We can't." Naruto felt himself searching for a reason as to why not. Surely this couldn't be bad, when it felt so good. "We're too young."

Tears immediately appeared in Hinata's eyes. _Stupid, stupid me! Of course he doesn't want an ugly girl like me!_ "…you d-don't w-w-want m-me—mmph!" Hinata felt herself cut off by a pair of lips pressed against her own.

Naruto gently kissed her, moving his hand up to caress the side of her face.

"Of course I want you, my little vixen." Naruto assured her amorously. "I love you, but I want our first time to be something we can remember." Hinata looked deep into Naruto's blue eyes, searching for any kind of deception. There was none. The only thing she could see was his kindness and his love. _His eyes…he loves me! _Hinata thought happily.

That fact, though, only worsened Hinata's condition. Her body screamed at her to procreate, and Hinata spasmed as a wave of addictive pleasure coursed through her.

Naruto bit his lip. The mating urge would not let up until she mated…or at least until her body thought she had. Still, he wanted them to both be in complete control of themselves for their first time. Naruto wanted their first time to be something special, something they could look back on without the smallest shred of regret. There was only one thing do to.

Naruto gently rubbed Hinata's young clit, and her hips bucked wildly into his hand. Hinata gasped, her pupilless eyes shooting wide open. Naruto was amazed at how wet she was as he gently traced the outline of her nether lips. His own hard cock was a reminder to not get carried away; that he had a mission to do (the shinobi side of him winced at the possible bad pun). Naruto moved so that he could get a better angle, also giving him a better view of Hinata's womanhood. She was just developing, there was a small patch of dark blue hair at the top of her clit, and her glistening pussy lips were slightly parted, a hole waiting to be filled.

Hinata was lost to all coherent thought as a single finger entered her, gently pumping in and out of her moist cavern. Naruto watched her eyes for any trace of discomfort. There was none. Hinata's toes curled as she gave a soft moan of pleasure. The fire burning in the pit of her stomach blazed higher and brighter, and she instinctively knew she was close to the perfect release of ecstasy.

A year ago, Naruto would have laughed himself into a coma if someone told him he would be doing this, with Hinata no less. First she was his slave, then she became his friend, then his best friend, and now his lover. Naruto wouldn't change any of it for the world. Except maybe the slave part, yeah, that part sucked.

The blonde boy was entranced by the look of pure pleasure that was on Hinata's face. _She's beautiful. _As he slowly added a second finger, he made sure his pumping didn't reach her hymen; he didn't want to cause her any pain. Hinats was warm and tight around his fingers, and Naruto wondered how magnificent they would both feel when they truly became one.

Naruto's callused fingers were inexperienced but gentle; tender and fast. Being able to stand it no longer, Hinata climaxed with a loud shout of "Naruto-kun!" She basked in the afterglow of her orgasm. Unused to the strength of such powerful arousal running through her, Hinata felt her eyelids starting to droop. "Naruto-kun…" She whispered before succumbing to warm, welcome darkness.

Waiting until Hinata's breathing evened out, Naruto gently withdrew his fingers. On impulse, he brought his soaked digits up to his face and inhaled deeply. His head spun with desire as he found himself licking Hinata's sweet nectar off his fingers. Naruto was painfully reminded of his own 'personal problem' that still had to be taken care of.

Naruto sighed as he gently got up without waking Hinata. He had some business to take care of outside. He sighed again. He was pretty sure he now understood what Kirabi meant when he said, "Righty is a shinobi's best friend."

* * *

Elsewhere, a tall man with long, spiky white hair sneezed. "Something very sexy just happened, and I wasn't there to see it." Jiraiya pouted. [1]

* * *

Hinata realized two things upon waking up the next morning. One, her tail itched, and two, she and Naruto had a very kinky sexual encounter last night. Hinata's mind was the clearest it had been in days. She couldn't believe that she and Naruto-kun almost had sex! In retrospect, Hinata was glad that Naruto didn't actually…do her. All she could really remember of last night was a blur of excitement, lust, and Naruto pleasing her body. Hinata wanted to be able to remember every vivid detail of their true first time; if they had had sex last night she would always regret not being able to remember such a monumental event.

"Did you have a nice sleep, vixen-chan?"

Hinata eeped as she tried to put some space between her and the speaker, but two naked arms encircling her prevented that. _Oh my Kami, I slept with Naruto-kun naked!_ Somehow, Hinata managed to stay conscious, but some of her surprise must have shown on her face as she turned to face Naruto.

"I get it now. I love you, Hinata-chan." Naruto said, his eyes sparkling with amusement and honesty.

Hinata's heart filled with joy. "I l-love you too, N-Naru-sama." She leaned forwards and kissed him. _Waking up every morning to Naru-sama…I can definitely live with that._

Naruto arched an eyebrow when they broke apart. "Naru-sama?" He wondered.

Hinata blushed but was unwilling to break eye contact with her love. "B-Because you're the only p-person who is the master of my h-heart." Completely embarrassed that she actually said that, Hinata buried her head into the crook of Naruto's neck.

Naruto grinned. "As long as I'm the only one. You might wanna get your clothes back on, though, or we might have a repeat of last night."

* * *

The rabbit was happily munching grass when it heard a sound. Its head shot up, ears twitches as it froze to determine if there was a predator nearby. After several moments, it decided there was no threat and dipped its head back down to continue its meal. Instead of touching grass, however, its nose met a hand.

Scared out of its mind, the rabbit looked up to see the strangest creature. It was a huge beast (by the rabbits perspective) with long, dark blue hair around its head, yet there was no fur on its body. It had similarly colored ears and a long, bushy tail. The rabbit shot off in the other direction, its natural instincts telling it to flee. It got no less than two feet when there was a blur and a whoosh of air, and the giant creature was in front of the rabbit again, having ran around it to intercept its path in a split second. The rabbit skidded to a stop as its tiny feet desperately tried to find traction, and it tried running in a different direction…with the same result.

Hinata giggled, enjoying her newfound speed. Even since she had become half kitsune, her body began changing, making her faster and more agile. Her mind had changed slightly as well, although she was still Hinata, she just had a few animal-like tendencies.

Growing tired of playing with the rabbit, Hinata reached down and snapped its neck in one smooth movement, picked it up, and decided to head back to camp.

Back at camp, Hinata saw Naruto, his blond head bowed over a notebook as he intermittently jotted down notes in strange symbols. Hinata quickly skinned and gutted the rabbit, placing the edible parts into the boiling pot and burying the entrails and skin so as to not attract wild animals. Having done so, the hanyou girl went to a nearby stream and washed her hands off before returning to camp.

Sitting down on the log next to Naruto, Hinata wiggled her head into Naruto's lap. A distant smile over took his face as he spared one hand to stroke her head affectionately. Even though he was concentrating on his paper, Hinata's tail lazily waved from side to side, showing satisfaction with the way Naruto's fingers were scratching the spot behind her ears.

Naruto's cock twitched as he heard Hinata's sultry purr. The pencil in his hand abruptly stopped moving as his back stiffened, and Naruto rubbed Hinata's sensitive spot a little more vigorously. Hinata responded with a soft, pleased moan. _I should stop before this gets out of hand…huh, Hinata's not even in heat and we're both like this. Well, at least I am. Anyways, better stop._

Naruto reluctantly stood up. "Hey Hinata-chan, I've been thinking lately. It takes a lot of concentration to hold a Transformation Jutsu all day long, and we'll be compromised mentally if you're in combat and have to focus on multiple things at once. So I was thinking about trying something out, so see if we can do something to keep the Henge on without you having to be distracted. So, it's okay with you?"

"Sure, Naru-sama." Hinata said coyly. "What do you need me to do?"

Naruto blushed. "Um, you see, I was going to use a fuinjutsu technique…" He held up a bottle of ink and a small paintbrush. "…but, uh, I kind of need to put the seal on skin, so…Ineedyoutotakeyourshirtoff! (I need you to take your shirt off)"

Instead of being embarrassed, like Naruto thought she would be (he sure was), Hinata took her shirt off in an instant, baring her naked chest to his devouring eyes. Blood began to trickle from Naruto's nose, and it turned into a large jet, sending him backwards. He was now laying on his back unconscious, a large grin on his face

"Naruto-kun?"

* * *

_Later…_

Hinata shivered as the cold tip of the paintbrush touched her right shoulder. She made sure not to lose concentration on her Henge no Jutsu as Naruto swiftly drew several symbols and seals, inserting his chakra in the right sections and concentrations, and an intricate design began to build up on Hinata's back. Naruto knew he was no seal master, but he was certainly above average.

_There, that's the last one._ "Seal!" Naruto channeled chakra into the center seal, and all the symbols drew together from all directions, forming the kanji for "Lock".

"Okay, now release your concentration."

Hinata did so, yet her fox features did not return. _It worked! Yet, I'm kind of sad._ "A-Ano, Naruto-kun, am I g-going to be like this f-forever?" She asked as she pulled her shirt back on.

"Eh? Nah, you can go back to normal by pulsing chakra into your shoulder. It's like an on/off switch, now." Naruto replied before a crafty grin worked its way onto his face. "Besides, I like my sweet little vixen too much to get rid of her."

Hinata blushed, but held hands with Naruto as the walked into the tent, ready to go to sleep.

* * *

_A few weeks later…_

"Got any sevens?"

"Nope, go fish."

"Ha, I drew a seven! That means I get to move my rook diagonally for three turns!"

"Nope, I activate my trap card, which negates the effect of you drawing a seven."

"Oh yeah, well I can roll the dice, and if I get over a 4, it destroys your trap!...3, crap…"

Kotetsu Igane and Izumo Kamizuki, the gate wardens of Konoha, were very, very bored. They were currently playing a mix of several card and board games, at the same time.

Kotetsu looked over the path leading into Konoha as he scratched the skin underneath the bandage running across his nose. There was a spiky haired blonde boy and a girl with long dark-blue hair. The boy walked with a fluid gait, and the hilt of a well-used katana peeked over his right shoulder as his white and red cloak fluttered in the wind. The girl had a graceful stride, one that belonged to a dancer…or a deadly fighter. Oddly enough, her clothes seemed to be similar to ANBU kunoichi issue.

As the walked by, Kotetsu grinned as he took away 650 of Izumo's lifepoints with a direct attack from his enhanced pawn. Suddenly, he did a sudden double take, but the two travelers were suddenly gone.

"Hey, what's wrong? You look like you saw a—"

Kotetsu's face was pale, and his eyes were wide open. "I think I just saw Yondaime-sama's ghost."

* * *

"We're passed the gates, vixen-chan." Naruto whispered, his breath warm in Hinata's ear. "Do it."

_There will be time for snuggling later._ Hinata reminded herself. "Hai, Naru-sama."

During the last few weeks, Naruto had been giving Hinata _**a lot**_ of shinobi training. Before, in Kumo, he was somewhat limited in what he could teach Hinata, because if other shinobi sensed that Hinata chakra coils were too developed for a non-ninja, they would immediately know something was up. In other words, that meant no ninjutsu or genjutsu training, only some physical training, including teaching Hinata how to use zai and important places to strike on the body. But now that they were no longer living in Kumo, Naruto had absolutely no qualms about teaching Hinata all the other things that would help her defend herself.

Interestingly enough, Naruto noticed several interesting things about the kitsune hanyou girl. First of all, her chakra reserves were _freaking insane_. Hinata had incredibly large amounts of chakra (almost as much as him), especially for her age; Naruto assumed it was part of her being a hanyou. Secondly, Naruto was interested in Hinata's kekkei genkai. Now, Hinata was from the Hyuga Clan, and Naruto expected her to have the Byakugan (courtesy of certain records Naruto had stolen and read in Kumo). However, it took a while, but Hinata finally learned how to channel chakra to her eyes, and something interesting happened: not only did the area around her eyes gained the telltale bulging veins of the Byakugan, but a her eyes also gained a red, animalistic vertical slit in her eyes, in the place of a pupil. It reminded Naruto of the eyes of a fox.

At first, Hinata was frightened. It was very disorienting to suddenly be able to see in practically all directions at once, along with strange, glowing blue auras. However, as she got more and more used to having her doujutsu activated, Hinata was amazed at what she could see. Her range of vision was drastically expanded and she could see chakra and odd dots on Naruto's body (what Naruto explained as tenketsu). But most interestingly was the fact that her new eyes (which Hinata herself dubbed the Kitsugan) helped her cast genjutsu with ease.

Naruto supposed it made sense. Kitsune were natural tricksters, it only made sense that Hinata, now being half fox-demon, gained some ability in the field of illusions. Naruto would have liked to known if it helped her see through illusions as well, but frankly, he had absolutely no talent at genjutsu himself. Still, he mused, Hinata's Kitsugan was a huge advantage…and very sexy.

But then, when wasn't she? When ever she looked at him, Kitsugan activated or not, a shiver ran down Naruto's spine in anticipation of the delicious things they do together in the future. He loved her, and he knew she loved him; it was only a matter of time as they grew closer and closer. Naruto wasn't sure why she had suddenly stopped coming on to him, but he thought it was because her heat ended. He was a bit disappointed, but he would wait until she was ready. Perhaps Hinata just wasn't comfortable with such acts yet. After all, all they had really done was snuggle and some light petting since the time Naruto 'took care' of Hinata's problem. With a shrug, Naruto snapped back into reality.

"Kitsugan." The veins on the side of Hinata's eyes bugled, and the red slit appeared in both of her lavender eyes. "Magen: Baisuu Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu **(Demonic Illusion: Multiple False Surroundings Technique)**."

* * *

An aging, balding man dressed in the flowing red and white robes of his office sighed.

"Hiashi, I cannot simply concede to your request. The alliance with Kumokagure, although they reap far more benefits than do we, cannot simply be broken due to unfounded assumptions."

"Unfounded assumptions? UNFOUNDED ASSUMPTIONS! I HAVE SPENT THE LAST NINE YEARS OF MY LIFE SCROUNGING OUT ALL OF THIS INFORMATION, AND YOU DENY ME THIS?" The Hyuga Clan Head screamed.

"Enough, Hiashi!" Sarutobi quickly cut him off. "I agree with you. However, the fact remains that the proof is not adequate. If we cut the treaty with Kumo, we will irreparably damage our reputation; not only will our other allies begin to distrust us and possibly abandon us; no other party will want to form a treaty with us in the future."

"It…it just isn't fair!" Hiashi cried, hating the fact that it sounded like he was whining. "Kumo has either directly or indirectly taken everything from me! And most of all, my daughter and my godson! Hitami-chan was never the same after our daughter was taken, she started eating and drinking only intermittently, and her body was so exhausted that she died after giving birth to Hanabi-chan! The Elders, furious at losing two children with such _potential, accidentally_ overused the Branch Seal and killed my brother!" Hiashi's tone was clearly sardonic, and he knew just how much of an _accident _it really was. "Their head ninja in charge of the treaty happens to disappear the night the treaty was signed, and that same night a mysterious man abducts Naruto and Hinata! Tell me it is just a coincidence! Look me in the eyes and tell me you think it is all a coincidence!"

"The fact remains that there is no concrete proof, Hiashi. Please, Hiashi, just go home. You still have a daughter and a cousin. If anything changes, I'll let you know."

_And the cousin hates me and the main branch for the death of his father._ Hiashi thought bitterly, but he knew the time for argument had passed. "Yes, Hokage-sama. By your leave." And with that, he left.

Sarutobi sighed. _I'm getting too old for this shit._ He decided as he stuffed some dried green matter into his pipe. He was just about to light it when a voice suddenly spoke, causing him to start and drop the pipe, which clattered to the floor.

"Hokage-sama, we wish to speak to you. Despite our manner of contacting you, I can assure you we mean you no harm." The pitch of the voice led the Sandaime to believe it was a young boy speaking. From the tone, Sarutobi guessed the boy already had at least a few years under his belt as a shinobi; this was no civilian, for sure. He quickly looked around, but there was obviously no one in the room, and the voice seemed to come from all directions. Logically, Hiruzen thought, it must be a genjutsu.

"Well, here I am. What would you like to talk to me about?" Sarutobi stalled, trying to gain some time. He put his hands together in a seal and pulsed his chakra. _Kai!_ But nothing happened.

"Please do not try to raise an alarm, Hokage-sama. We merely ask you to listen to a simple request. Afterwards we shall depart with no hassle if your answer is negative."

Sarutobi quickly assessed his situation while trying to break the genjutsu again, which failed, and came a conclusion before the intruder spoke again.

"Please do not make this anymore difficult than it has to be. Of course, you do realize that if we truly wished you harm, we could have killed you without wasting the time to talk to you."

"Very well." Sarutobi conceded. "What is it you wish?" _At least three people, probably more. A genjutsu this complex couldn't be held by a normal shinobi, so there must be at least two people concentrating solely on holding the genjutsu, plus the speaker._

"Asylum in Konoha with complete protection from any other nation, country, land, or village." The boy's voice responded. "In return, we can provide a great deal of information about Kumo…who has secretly broken the terms of your treaty in several major ways throughout the last decade. We will tell you everything we know, and in return we wish to become citizens, and then ninja of Konohakagure no Sato."

Sarutobi frowned as he thought. This information was particularly suspicious, given the conversation he and Hiashi had just been having. What possible reason could these ninja have for wanted to defect from Kumo to Konoha? Regardless, this was an opportunity Konoha could not afford to miss; Suna wanted to form a treaty that would end up being much more beneficial than Konoha's current one, but refused to as long as Konoha was allied with Kumo. As long as they weren't mass murderers, Sarutobi thought, there was no huge reason why Konoha couldn't accept a few refugees. Their shinobi ranks could always use a little bit of new blood.

"Very well. I accept."

"Excellent. If you will, Hinata-chan…?"

"Hai. Genjutsu Kai." A soft, feminine voice replied.

The illusion dissolved, and Sarutobi gaped at the two young residents of the room. "Na-Na-Naruto!"

* * *

After a long, long, long, _long_ time, Naruto had finally finished explaining all that had happened in the last nine years. Sarutobi had not been too surprised at the way Kumo had so smoothly double crossed Konoha, but was still embarrassed to be tricked for so long.

After lengthy deliberations, several things were agreed on. Naruto would live in the currently empty Namikaze Compound and would join the Ninja Academy when it started, later that year. Although he was already skilled enough to be a genin, maybe even a chunin, it would seem like he was getting preferential treatment if he was made a shinobi without taking the Academy Graduation Test.

"Ah…I see." Sarutobi mused. "A multiple-layered genjutsu. By using genjutsu release twice, all I did was remove two layers…for all I know, there could have only one layer left, or one hundred layers left."

Naruto nodded. "I see that there is a reason why they call you the Professor of Jutsu. In fact—"

"Get out of my way!" Everyone could hear a distant shout, but Sarutobi smiled as he recognized the voice.

"But first, I think there's someone you two should meet." Sarutobi said. Seconds later, the door burst open to reveal a panting Hiashi Hyuga, who had obviously run the entire way there. Just moments after getting home, a very peeved Hiashi had received a short letter via messenger hawk, saying only: _Something has changed. Come quickly._

He stared at the two children in the room, or more accurately, one child in particular. The dark blue hair of her mother, combined with an iris color somewhat in between those of her parents', left Hiashi with no doubt as to whom she was.

"Hi-Hinata?" Hiashi's mind desperately raced to try to figure out just how she was in Konoha, or how she was even alive. He lunged forwards, wanting to hug her, wanting to confirm with his own senses that his daughter was very much alive.

* * *

Hinata did not recognize the man who suddenly burst into the door. However, the instant he made a move for her, she jumped away, her chair clattering to the floor.

"Chikazuka nai **(Stay away)**!" She shrieked. She flicked both of her wrists, and two zai came out from her sleeves. Hinata crouched into a defensive position, the blades pointed towards this man. _No! You can't have me! I belong to Naru-sama, now._ Hinata shuddered in fear.

Hiashi couldn't make the words click in his head as he moved towards his daughter again. _She's alive!_ There was a familiar-looking blonde boy in the way, and his mouth was moving as if he was saying something, but Hiashi didn't hear as he moved forwards, pushing the boy out of the way. His daughter's eyes widened as he approached her again, but then Hiashi heard a metallic ringing sound, a sword clearing its scabbard. He turned just in time to see the blonde boy making a swing at him, but he easily maneuvered out of the way and thrust a palm into the boy's sternum, sending him flying backwards. Hiashi turned around, but his daughter was no longer there.

* * *

Hinata's eyes widened as a glob of blood shot from Naruto's open mouth. She rushed to his side, being careful to stay in the man's blind spot, but by the time she was there, Naruto had already forced himself to his feet. _This guy…I'm way out of his league…But I will protect Hinata-chan!_ His eyes turned red and his pupils widened into vertical slits as an orange aura started to surround him.

"Naruto-sama, what's happening?"

"I won't let you touch her!" Naruto snarled, standing in front of Hinata. His vision sharpened and focused on the man in front of him.

"I want my daughter back!" Hiashi activated his blood limite, chakra veins widening around his eyes.

Sarutobi's eyes widened. This was quickly getting out of hand. "Doton: Ishi Sai **(Earth Release: Stone Bonds)**!"

Tendrils of stone crept up from the floor and wrapped around Hiashi, holding him in place. He struggled futilely for a few moments before giving up and glaring at Naruto and Hiruzen. "What is the meaning of this! Release me, now, Hiruzen!" He yelled, forgetting to use the honorific in his anger.

The Sandaime twitched his forefinger, and another tendril of rock crept over Hiashi's mouth, muffling his words. _That…did not go the way I expected, at all. _He turned his gaze to Naruto and Hinata, who were wrapped up in their own stone prison, together.

"It appears I have made a mistake." Sarutobi deadpanned. "Hiashi, I suggest you take a moment to regain control yourself. This is a very delicate situation." His tone made it clear that it was not a suggestion, but an order. Hiashi stiffened. For all his age, Sarutobi was still most likely the strongest ninja in the Hidden leaf. "Naruto, please control yourself. I am going to release both of you; now…don't make me regret letting you two go."

The Sandaime canceled his jutsu and the stone receded back into the floor. Hiashi deactivated his Byakugan and Naruto's demonic coat faded away. Hiashi glared at Naruto, who glared back, moving protectively in between Hiashi and Hinata as he sheathed his katana on his back.

"Good. Now, I will fill you in on all the details later, Hiashi. But for now, so far we have determined what Naruto's arrangements will be, but Hinata's have yet to be—"

"What! Hokage-sama, you can't be serious!" Naruto protested. "He just attacked me, and was about to attack Hinata-chan! He can't possibly be trusted as a father or even as a person!"

"How dare you!" Hiashi interrupted. "Slaver! You're a disgrace to your father's name!"

The two were just about to go at it again when Sarutobi's killing intent filled the room. Neither Naruto, Hinata, or Hiashi were majorly affected by it, but it reminded the two arguers where they were and to calm down. They angrily sat back down and resumed glaring at each other.

"That will be enough, you two. Now…" Sarutobi looked at Hinata. She was standing behind Naruto, holding on to his sleeve and watching the movements of her father and Sarutobi. "…we should not talk as if Hinata is not here, or that she cannot understand what we are saying. Hinata, this is a very complicated situation, but I am going to simplify it to a single question. Would you like to stay with Naruto or your father?"

Hinata looked from Hiashi to Naruto, slightly confused. _Perfect._ Both Naruto and Hiashi thought. _Given the choice, she'll choose to stay with me over him._

"Hinata, don't you remember me? I'm your tou-san, don't you recognize me?" Hiashi pleaded. Hinata gave him a blank look. "You belong with me; you belong with your family. You have a baby sister, she just turned six. Don't you want to see your baby sister? We've been separated for so long…we can finally be a family again."

Hinata looked at Naruto. "Naruto-sama, what should I do?"

He smiled at her and shrugged. "You are free to do whatever you wish, Hinata-chan. However, it would seem that whichever choice you make is permanent."

Hinata nodded her head. "I belong with Naruto-sama. I belong _**to**_ Naruto-sama." She insisted vehemently to Hiashi and Sarutobi. Hiashi opened his mouth to argue again, but the aged Hokage cut him off.

"Hiashi, I think you should take a walk. Take fifteen minutes or so to go clear your head. We'll talk when you get back."

"H-Hai." Hiashi slowly left in an utterly defeated manner. _I can't believe it…what happened to my daughter?_

Hinata smiled at Naruto, who smiled back. _Naru-sama…_ Seeing his smile alone left Hinata with no doubt that she had made the right decision. Hinata practically glowed with happiness, a clear smile on her face, when Naruto intertwined his fingers with hers.

Sarutobi cleared his throat. _Hmmm…interesting._ "Well, if that's all, I assume Hinata will be staying with you, Naruto. Go to your new house. I'll send someone with information on Academy registration in a couple of days."

Naruto grinned. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

* * *

_Several minutes later, when Hiashi gets back..._

"What did they do to my daughter?" Hiashi demanded immediately upon entering. "Oh, I know _all_ about what Kumo does to their slaves, yes. She's been brainwashed, hasn't she! Look at the way she was looking at that, that, that…kid!"

"Hiashi, please calm down." Sarutobi asked, but Hiashi kept on ranting.

"And she was also calling him '-sama'! It's obvious she practically idolizes the boy! Minato's kid or not, I don't care how amazing he is, it isn't natural!"

"Hiashi…"

"My little Hinata has been brainwashed, and she thinks that this Naruto kid is her master! This is an outrage! Why I oughta—"

"HIASHI!" Sarutobi yelled, finally catching Hiashi's attention. Now that the Hyuga Clan was silent, Sarutobi tried to reason with him. "This is most likely for the best. I would like you to think what the Hyuga Elders would do if they found out that there were two children of the Clan Head still alive."

Hiashi paled. _I hadn't thought about that…one of them would have to be sealed. Unlike my father, I can't bear the thought of one of my children getting that abominable seal on them…_

Sarutobi continued. "As for being brainwashed, Hinata may seem like it, but the more I think about it the less likely it seems. You do realize that Hinata is at the age that she begins to develop a crush on a random boy, right? Her views of him are more likely that of a love-struck girl for an oblivious boy than a devoted slave to her devious master. Naruto seems to be everything a young girl wants: strong, protective, and handsome; you have to admit that he inherited his father's good looks."

Hiashi couldn't dispute that. Naruto was practically a carbon copy in looks of Minato when he was the same age. Back then, Minato was a heartthrob, every girl in Konoha wanted him. All the boys envied him, but Minato was completely oblivious to all the girls' advances (at least until he met one refugee girl from the Land of Whirlpools, but that is a different story). Hiashi's fatherly side did not like the idea of his bereaved daughter crushing on a boy, but his reasonable side said that this was probably best. If the Hyuga Elders did somehow get wind of Hinata's presence, there would be no safer place for her than under the watch of the Yondaime's son. The Hyuga Elders could not force the Caged Bird Seal upon Hinata without losing a great deal of face in the village, and in Konoha, reputation was power.

Besides, if Naruto became half the man his father was, there could be no better husband for Hinata. Hiashi had to admit that the way Naruto had jumped in front of Hinata when he thought she was going to be attacked was very comforting. Hiashi could only hope that they stuck together as their careers as ninjas progressed.

"I still think Hinata was brainwashed." Hiashi grumbled, satisfied but still wanting to voice his displeasure. "No child should be so afraid of their own parent."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "Interstingly enough, I think she would have been fine if her mother was here. It seems like your daughter is showing signs of androphobia, the fear of men. Due to her reaction when you tried to hug her, it isn't an unreasonable assumption; she was clearly terrified. I believe she was looking at me, too, with a little bit of fear. Imagine, crippled old me."

The aged Hokage chuckled while Hiashi snorted. Back in his prime, Sarutobi had been a force to be reckoned with (which was one of the reasons why he was made Hokage). Even now, Sarutobi could still beat just about any jonin in the village.

Hiashi left, unhappy but accepting of recent events. Sarutobi sighed as he finally lit his pipe again, taking a much-needed smoke.

"I'm getting too old for this shit…"

* * *

Naruto grinned as he slipped into bed for the night. The grounds were perfect. The house was spacious, but not ridiculously so. The yard surrounding the house was massive; it could be used for training or for holding mass parties.

His smile withered as he realized where he was: the master bedroom. This was where his parents had lived. This was where they had slept. What would it be like to be in a happy family, with a mother and father, Naruto wondered. What would a life with parents be like? What did it feel like to have a family, to be loved?

Naruto's smile came back as Hinata slid under the covers with him. Even now, they still slept together, just for the warmth and comfort of each other's bodies. Naruto made a satisfied sound as he wrapped his arms around Hinata's form as she nuzzled into his chest. Her tail reached down and wrapped itself around his leg.

"Goodnight, vixen-chan."

"Goodnight, Naru-sama."

_This is what it feels like._

* * *

_A few days later, 10:30 PM, Namikaze Grounds…_

Naruto, sweating heavily and panting, forced his body to move, feeling exhilaration and hormones pumping through his body. "Faster, Hinata-chan!" He ordered. Hinata complied and upped her pace, but she was close to her limit. With a moan, she stopped, sweat running down her face.

"Next time, use your wrist a little bit more when you move your hand, its better that way." Naruto suggested.

Hinata nodded with an exhausted smile. "I think…" Hinata paused to catch her breath. "…I'm almost ready to d-do it again, Naru-sama."

"Whenever you're ready, Vixen-chan." After a few minutes of heavy panting, Hinata nodded.

Oddly enough, the activity the two were participating was not as suggestive as it might seem.

Hinata, using more wrist motion as Naruto suggested, threw a barrage of shuriken and kunai at Naruto, who did his best to dodge them. Each projectile was actually sharpened and pointed, as Naruto claimed that the danger would help both of them to focus. Naruto dashed and dodged randomly, and Hinata drew more weapons from the two weapons pouches she had on each thigh. Normally, a ninja would only have one, but they were practicing to improve Hinata's throwing speed and accuracy in hitting a moving target, while simultaneously improving Naruto's dodging capabilities.

Naruto did a cartwheel to avoid Hinata's projectiles and immediately launched into a twisting backflip once his feet touched the ground. _That's the last of them…_ Naruto thought as he landed. "Good job, vixen-chan, you're getting really good at this."

Hinata gave him a small smile as she walked towards him, her sharpened canines showing slightly. "Better than you realize, Naru-sama." She panted. The kitsune hanyou gently traced Naruto's cheek with her forefinger and held it in front of his face. The tip of her finger had a small bit of red.

Naruto's hand rose to his cheek. "I'm bleeding? You got me! That's great, I was dodging the best I could!" He smiled at her in pride and Hinata got a warm feeling inside herself. Naruto gave Hinata a brief peck on the lips before he turned around to go back inside. "I'm gonna go wash it out real quick, kay?"

"Wait, Naru-sama…" Hinata pleaded, and Naruto immediately turned back around. "Let me…" Hinata got on tiptoes and licked Naruto's face from the corner of his mouth to halfway to his ear. It was an instinctive reaction; licking a wound insured that it was cleaned and healed without infection, even though Naruto didn't have to worry about that.

Naruto stiffened as Hinata's warm tongue trailed over his small cut. _Oh, my little vixen…do you have any idea what you do to me?_ As Hinata pulled back to reveal already healed skin, Naruto felt both relief and loss at the missing sensation of Hinata's tongue. His muscles tightened as he fought his instincts. "Th-Thank you, H-Hinata-ch-chan." He stammered. "I'm g-gonna go t-t-take a sh-shower before I g-go to sleep." He rushed into the house.

Hinata frowned as her mate fled. _Why is Naru-sama running away from me?_ Incredibly depressed, Hinata packed up the weapons and went inside to take a bath in a separate bathroom.

* * *

Naruto gave a small yelp as the ice-cold water hit him, rinsing the suds off his body. He looked down at himself. _It's not working._ With a sigh, he shut the showerhead off and walked out of the shower, grabbing a towel off the rack. In a few short moments, he dried off his body and his blonde hair and slipped on his boxers, sweatpants, and a loose t-shirt to sleep in.

Walking into their bedroom, Naruto saw Hinata lying on the bed, her shoulders shaking oddly. As Naruto slid under the covers, Hinata kissed him, but she could tell Naruto wasn't putting any passion into the kiss.

"You're doing it again…" She whispered mournfully, turning her tear-filled eyes up to him. Naruto started guiltily, he had never meant to make her cry. Her tears tore at his heart. "When I kiss you, you don't really kiss back. When I hug you, you still try to keep me at arm's length. All you do is let me hold your hand. Am I ugly, Naru-sama? Am I not attractive? Is it my scars?" Hinata asked, her pain evidence in her voice as her hand shot up to traces the twin white scars on her right cheek. "Am I so hideous that you have to turn away from me? I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun…" She dissolved into tears, broken. The young girl tried to get up and run away, but Naruto held her tight, and she cried into Naruto's chest, instead. "I'm so sorry…"

"Shhh. You are none of those things, Hinata-chan." Naruto insisted. "You are beautiful, my vixen, you are perfect."

"Then why…*sniff*…why don't you want me?"

"I do, Hinata-chan, I want you so badly." Naruto let out a deep breath and steeled his nerves. He grabbed Hinata's pale hand and brought it down to his stomach, and then lower still, letting her feel his hardness. Hinata's lavender eyes widened as her tears finally stopped, and Naruto stared deep into her eyes. "Do you feel that, Vixen-chan? This is how badly I want you. I need you so much, it hurts."

"Then…why don't we?" Hinata asked as she wiped at her tears with the covers. "I want you, you want me. What's stopping us from—" Hinata gently rubbed Naruto's crotch, and his hips bucked forwards.

"Don't do that!" Hinata immediately jerked her hand back.

"If we make love, Vixen-chan, you might become pregnant. I most definitely wouldn't mind having children together, but if you got pregnant at such a young age, both you and our baby might die because your body isn't ready to bear a child. I don't want you to get hurt just because I can't control myself." Naruto's voice became strained. "That's why I try to hold back, because I know that once I start, I won't be able to stop, and you won't want to stop either. I don't know if it's because of the Kyuubi, or it's just me, but I can barely contain myself around you, Hinata-chan. You don't even have to do anything; your beauty alone makes me crave you. But when you kiss me on the cheek, or snuggle close to me when you sleep…it drives me absolutely insane."

Hinata was beyond bliss at Naruto's words. _He really does want me! _She scolded herself for not recalling the lust in his eyes on the night her first heat peaked. _That's not fair, though; that I can have release and he can't…or can he? _"H-How…How do you stand it, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto winced. _I really, really wish she hadn't asked that…but I'll tell her the truth._ "Uhh…you know how I 'helped' you out when you peaked? I kind of…touch myself." He admitted ashamedly.

Hinata licked her lips, an indecipherable look on her face. Naruto looked at her surprised that she was not disgusted. Naruto watched her eyes; they were the most amazing shade of purplish-pink, catching the light from the bedside lamp just right.

"Relax, Naru-sama." Hinata cooed. "Lay back. Relax." She murmured, and Naruto found himself complying, almost in a trace. Something about Hinata's voice made Naruto's muscles melt into obedience, and Naruto's mind felt fuzzy and clear at the same time. Hinata needed no genjutsu, Naruto knew it was because he trusted and loved her on both conscious and subconscious levels. Hinata gave him one more sweet smile before turning around and pulling the covers down all the way.

Naruto was slightly confused as he felt the slightly cold air. "Wha…"

He felt a slight moment of alarm as Hinata loosed the waist of his pants and pulled it down to his knees. "Hinata-chan—"

"Trust me, Naru-sama." Hinata replied without turning around. As she settled herself on Naruto's chest, Hinata stared in fascination at the bulge in his boxers. The hanyou girl tugged at the elastic band of the boxers, and they soon joined Naruto's sweatpants around his knees. Hinata stared in amazement at Naruto's member. By instinct and foreknowledge, Hinata knew exactly what it was…but was it supposed to be _that_ big? _Eight inches._ Hinata decided.

Naruto's head flopped back as his cock was exposed to the cool air. His erection was tight and throbbing. Hinata was torturing him, that had to be it; yet this torture was the most exquisitely pleasurable sensation Naruto had ever felt. Naruto's blue eyes widened as a soft hand wrapped around his shaft. His hips bucked upwards as Hinata began to gently pump up and down.

Hinata smiled as she heard Naruto's groan, and correctly assumed it was one of pleasure. She gently gripped it with her other hand, and even with two hands Hinata still had room to pump her hands up and down. His cock was so…foreign, to her, but Hinata eagerly explored it, lifting her left hand and gently petting Naruto's swollen head with two fingers. Already, a small bead of clear liquid was forming at the tip of Naruto's cock.

"Please, st-stop teasing me." Naruto begged. "Go faster, my vixen."

Hinata complied, pumping faster with her right hand. The drop of precum proved too tempting for Hinata, and she leaned forward and licked the blood-filled tip of Naruto's dick, tasting the very slight saltiness of Naruto's precum. Naruto's ensuing pelvic thrust almost threw Hinata off him, telling her that he had enjoyed that immensely. _I want him to feel good. I want him to moan my name in pleasure._ Hinata took Naruto's head into her mouth and began sucking slightly, enjoying his taste, all the while continuing to pump up and down Naruto's hard shaft; all framed by Hinata's dark blue hair.

"Onegai, Hinata-chan…" Naruto whimpered. Hinata's actions were driving him over the edge! From his supine point of view, Naruto could only see the outline of Hinata's panties through her thin nightshift, taunting him with the prospect of her womanhood. The female hanyou's tail waved hypnotically from side to side, wafting a delicious scent into Naruto's face. Naruto could smell a slight tang in the air that he had only smelled once before. It was the combined scents of Hinata and her arousal, letting Naruto know that Hinata was getting turned on by pleasing him.

Hinata's soft hands were like warm silk, sending the fire of pleasure through his nerves. Naruto knew he was being selfish, but he never wanted to have to masturbate again if Hinata could to this for him. Hinata's hot mouth sucking on his cock head, warm and insistent, was about to send him over the edge. "Vixen-chan, I'm about to—unnngh."

Hinata's eyes widened as a warm substance shot into her mouth. It tasted like Naruto's precum, only slightly saltier. Hinata swallowed as more cum pulsed into her mouth, shooting again and again. A trickle of semen leaked from the corner of Hinata's mouth as Naruto's orgasm wound to a finish, leaving him breathless and gasping for air. His dick slowly became limp as Naruto lay there after his completely mind-blowing [2] experience. It was way beyond anything Naruto had ever felt before, even while taking care of his 'problem' by himself. He figured it was sort of like tickling, you don't really feel much if you try to tickle yourself, but if someone else does, you react strongly. Naruto had definitely reacted strongly to Hinata.

Hinata reversed her position once again so that her face was inches from Naruto's. She was slightly aroused, but most of all she felt a warm, glowing sensation stemming from the fact that she had just given Naruto the best sensation of his life so far, if the look on his face was anything to go by. She dipped down to kiss him, and Naruto found that he didn't mind the taste of his own cum, as long as it was coming from Hinata.

"Oishii **(Yummy)**." Hinata declared, resting her head on Naruto's chest. She felt satisfied in the knowledge that Naruto was completely and utterly under her control, just as she was completely and utterly under his.

Naruto chuckled as he pulled his boxers and pants back up while keeping Hinata on his chest. "I'm glad you enjoyed that." He whispered. "I certainly did." He pulled the covers back up to cover their bodies. Finally, he reached over and clicked off the lamp by the side of the bed. "Aishiteru, Vixen-chan."

"Aishiteru, Naru-sama." Hinata mumbled sleepily, already falling asleep.

* * *

**AN: **

**[1]: I read this in someone else's fic and it was just perfect. I forgot who it was, so if it was you and you're mad at me, just PM me and I'll remove it. If you don't mind, I personally think it's hilarious.**

**[2]: Pun completely intended**

**I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, because I will not be writing any more lemons…..**

…

…

…

…**Just kidding. April Fools!**

**Anyways, people, thanks for all the reviews! Keep it up, and have a happy April Fools day!**

**Next time: Hinata Namikaze no Kashin!**


	5. Chapter 5: Never Again

**A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, multiple severe adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

Review response:

Thanks especially to the message ExKyuubi sent me, I was getting a bit down because people have been basically spamming my account with flames (coincidentally enough, basically none of those people have written a single story, I checked). I'm glad that there is still a lot of interest in all of my stories.

**Goooooooooooooo: i really liked this story. I love the description (especially the lemon bits ;o) But also i really like the story. Good stuff i think you should write  
another one maybe with sasuke in it? You could put him any one. Or have you  
considered writing about gay love. You should so write a yaoi. Looking forward  
to your next piece.**

I'm glad you like the story…but I'm never going to write yaoi or anything gay. I may reference it in a very vague and indirect fashion (probably derogatorily), but it simply disturbs me _far_ too much for me to even consider writing about it. While I'm not one of those people who go out of their way to hate on homosexuality in every other sentence, I am certainly not comfortable with it. I am a heterosexual teenage male, thank you very much, and would like to avoid being scarred from mental images. As for the whole Sasuke bit…he's an ass, plain and simple. While I may even decide to un-jerk his personality and use him as a side character, I'll likely keep Naruto as the main character in all of my Naruto fics. There's a reason why the manga and anime are titled "Naruto." _Yes,_ I'm talking to you, Kishimoto.

**NEW: **

**Sorry I couldn't get this chapter out for a while. I've been really busy with school, science fair, Academic Decathlon, and going to Science Symposium in Reno, Nevada. Yep, got lots of shit going on, and lucky it's missing the fan (for now). Also, AP tests have been a huge pain. I also had to study for the SAT…which turned out great. 2260, on my first fucking try! Then lots of other stuff happened and I lost my internet, blah blah blah. As my form of an apology, I'm making this chapter extra long! **

**[Spoiler Alert]**

**I do not own Naruto. If I did, when Sakura told Naruto she loved him, he would have punched her in the face as hard as he could (Which is pretty damn hard when he's in Perfect Sage Mode) and asked her how it felt. **

**New poll! Once I'm done with either this story or Demon Brothers of Konoha, I'll start on the next fic. You decide!**

**In case you haven't noticed it yet, Hinata isn't anywhere as near as shy as she is in canon. None of the factors like being raised around a disparaging father, a bratty little sister, or a hateful, murderous cousin, and being ignored by boy she loves, not knowing if boy she loves even knows she exists, watching boy she loves declare his undying love for a girl who really doesn't give a flying fuck, etc, are present. Therefore, the only real reason Hinata might be shy is because she doesn't know if Naruto returns her feelings, but that issue was resolved in the last few chapters. Hinata won't be a whore or a slut, but she definitely won't be a shy wallflower when it comes to her relationship with Naruto.**

Wait, say what? There's no lemon in the chapter! Well, shit, why the hell did I put up that warning? Oh, right, that's for the next chapter.

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones.**

"**DEMONIC YELLING!"**

**6/28/2010**

* * *

Chapter 5: Never Again

Naruto slowly woke up to the comforting weight of Hinata's body lying on his. _Last night was…amazing._ Naruto smiled tenderly as he looked down at Hinata's sleeping face. _Whoever said ninja should have no emotions…was a fool. Sure, there are times when I'm going to have to block out my feelings, but I will never give something like this up, never._

"Naru-sama…"

Naruto froze, but it turned out that Hinata was only mumbling in her sleep. Naruto's smile came back. _I wonder if she's having a nice dream…I hope so…_Naruto felt 'junior' starting to wake up as well, but last night had reinvigorated Naruto's willpower. What were a few more years, when they had their entire lives ahead of them? Naruto smirked. _Besides, if it ever becomes too much for me to bear again, Hinata can always 'help' me out._

Naruto let his thoughts drift. His mind felt clearer than it had in weeks. Being around Hinata, but keeping a tight rein on his actions, had definitely been trying for the young jinchuriki. _But now, I can relax._ His breaths slow and even, Naruto once again noticed Hinata's scent. It still smelled sweet, but lacked the very slight tang it held the night before. Naruto grinned. _I can tell when she's excited…that's only fair, ne?_

Naruto watched as the hanyou girl on his stomach began to slowly wake up. She shifted from side to side before slowly opening her eyes, meeting Naruto's gaze. Hinata smiled up at her mate, her slightly sharpened canines looking incredibly adorable to Naruto. There was a small patch of a white, crusty material at the corner of her mouth. Naruto smiled back as his hand came up to scratch behind Hinata's ears before coming down to caress the side of her face, discreetly using his thumb to wipe away the dried remnants of his cum. Finally, he leaned forwards and gave his dark-blue haired lover a good morning kiss on her soft lips.

"Good morning, my little vixen…"

"Good morning, Naru-sama."

* * *

Together, both silently agreed to stay laying in bed for a while, simply reveling in each other's warm and comfort. Almost half an hour later, they eventually got out of bed and prepared to start the day together.

Over the next few weeks, word spread that the lost son of the Yondaime Hokage had returned to Konoha. Naruto quickly became somewhat of a celebrity in the Village Hidden in the Leaves; everyone wanted to meet the son of the Fourth Hokage. The Fourth had been considered the greatest ninja Konoha had ever produced in its entire history, possibly even the greatest shinobi to ever live. Already, people expected great things from the young Namikaze.

Rumors about the young boy spread like wildfire, and many of them concerned a mysterious girl about the same age as the Yondaime's legacy. Some people swore the girl had vibrant, long red hair, much like Uzumaki Kushina, Namikaze Minato's fiancée, who died in childbirth. Others were convinced that the girl had short white hair, and was not a girl at all, but an experienced, aged kunoichi who retained much of her skill despite her advanced age. No, some said, Naruto's companion was actually a rather effeminate boy. No, it was neither male nor female, but an elemental spirit. No, the Yondaime's son wasn't really back; it was just a plot by the Hokage to restore morale. Rumors spread in every which way, some malicious, some reasonable, some kind, and some downright ridiculous. However, none even vaguely concerned the Kyuubi no Kitsune. How could such a malignant beast possibly have anything to do with the Yondaime's heir? The very small number of people who did know about Naruto's jinchuriki status were close confidants of the Yondaime, and they all understood that it would be best to keep it a secret.

Some reasoned that releasing such information could cause a schism between people who saw Naruto as the jailor and people who saw Naruto as the prisoner, possibly even starting a civil war. Others knew that keeping a jinchuriki's existence a secret gave Konoha a massive tactical advantage against any potential unfriendly nation. It was well known that jinchuriki held the potential for incredible power; even the weakest host of the Ichibi would be worth dozens of regular shinobi. Some even reasoned that the civilian population would, at the very least, turn the Yondaime's heir into a social pariah if Naruto was known to contain the beast that killed so many civilians and shinobi alike, and then they would have to go through the difficult process of culling the wheat from the chaff from the offending population (because what else would they do? They certainly couldn't let an innocent child be hated and ignored for something he had no control over. The fact that Naruto was Minato Namikaze's, the beloved Yellow Flash of Konoha, son certainly affect everyone's decision, of course. People liked to think they would do the same for any child, regardless of affluent parentage or not.)

Naruto, for his part, didn't mind all the attention. It was actually a welcome change of pace from Kumo. Kumo was a very militant village; no breach of regular actions was permitted. There were clearly defined social classes: civilians and shinobi. The two simply did not intermix. However, in Konoha, Naruto often found himself approached by random strangers, civilian and ninja alike, and greeted cheerfully. After he got over his initial shock(s), he found that meeting new people was actual a pleasant experience, in a purely platonic sense.

However, he was slightly disturbed by the fact that many villagers seemed to be willing to do _anything_ for him. And he meant _anything_ in a very literal sense. Naruto could probably get away with murder, and many people would probably find a way to make it look like Naruto was a hero. Naruto noticed that almost all Konoha citizens seemed to have a hero worship of him just because of who his father was. Although he didn't mind people looking up to him, Naruto wanted to be recognized for _his own_ actions, not the actions of his unfamiliar father. However, Naruto had no reservations about taking up some of the offers he was received, particularly when some people offered to help train him in certain ninja skills.

As for Hinata, she and Naruto were practically inseparable. Since arriving in Konoha, not once had the two ever been more than 25 feet apart. Frankly, Hinata didn't care what kinds of rumors circulated about her. As long as she was with Naruto, she was happy.

She loved the way how he treated her like she was the most important thing in his life (which she was). Hinata could tell, just by the way Naruto looked at her or the special tone he used when he talked to her, just how much he loved her. She also loved the way he held her when they slept together, how he would comfort her if she had one of her recurring nightmares. Hinata loved Naruto, it was just that simple. And speaking of the nightmares, they had not lessened in intensity over time, unfortunately. Hinata was never comfortable in the presence of a male, other than Naruto of course. However, as long as Naruto was close by, Hinata wouldn't freak out completely because she knew Naruto would protect her.

Naruto wondered if he could pull some strings with the Hokage to make sure he and Hinata were on the same team. However, time was running out quickly, and the Ninja Academy started all too soon for Naruto and Hinata.

* * *

Iruka pinched the scarred bridge of his nose in frustration. He respected the Hokage and all…but he of all people should know how much of a hassle paperwork was! Two kids just _had _to transfer into the class, huh? The chunin sighed as he turned to face the class, silently appraising his students. This graduating class was considered to be one of the most promising in several years. Many of the heirs and heiresses to major clans in Konoha were present. For example, the progeny of the famed Ino-Shika-Cho group were there, along with the sons of the Clan Heads of the Inuzuka and Aburame Clans, Kiba and Shino. Other than that, there weren't really other people of interest, mostly civilian kids…

…except for the Uchiha. Uchiha Sasuke. After his entire Clan was massacred by his brother in a single night, Sasuke had become "emotionally withdrawn". At least, that was how the Konoha Council phrased it. Most logical people who met the boy would prefer the term "emotionally unstable". Sasuke was a loner most of the time, avoiding all contact with others.

There was once an issue that no one in who knew about it ever brought up. One day, one of Sasuke's classmates asked what the Uchiha Clan had actually ever done. They had not made up any unique jutsu; they copied their techniques from others. Most Uchiha didn't even activate their Sharingan, only a small percentage of the Uchiha managed that feat and lived through the harrowing experience. They didn't have the honor of their clan producing incredibly strong ninja; none of the Sannin was an Uchiha and no Uchiha had ever been Hokage. In fact, the boy continued, the only famous prodigious Uchiha ninja had been Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's own brother. Oblivious to the building rage on Sasuke's face at the mention of his older brother, the boy had posed a simple question to him: What special thing could the Uchiha really do?

In response, Sasuke had shown just what the Uchiha were capable of. Namely, their signature technique, Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu **(Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu)**. The boy had to be rushed to the ER, with severe third-degree burns covering his body. The Konoha Council covered it up by paying an impressive sum to the boy's parents, along with funding future medical costs for the new invalid, in exchange for their silence and general low publicity.

Unfortunately (for Iruka's headache), Kiba had formed a rather one-sided rivalry with the last Uchiha. Kiba, to put it bluntly, was a brat. A hyperactive, pranking, obnoxious brat. He and his dog, Akamaru, had been the bane of many Konoha citizens for the last few years. Although most of his pranks weren't exactly harmful, per se, they were definitely annoying and crude. Like that time he set up a bucket leaning at the top of a door…Iruka, being the teacher and thus first into the classroom, had been the unlucky recipient of the bucket's contents. Although this usually wouldn't have aggravated Iruka too much, the bucket had been filled with…dog piss. It had taken all of Iruka's self control to not strangle the boy.

Other victims, however, had not sustained such levels of self control. Mizuki, Iruka's fellow teacher, had cuffed the boy over the head after his favorite vest was ruined by paint. It wasn't intended to cause injury, but it had accidentally sent Kiba's head into the desk, giving him a small nosebleed. Mizuki later 'resigned' from his teaching position, and went back to active ninja duty with suspicious alacrity.

There was a reason for both Kiba's behavior and why he got away with it, however. Inuzuka Tsume, Kiba's mother, was the Clan Head of the Inuzuka Clan in Konohagakure. The Inuzuka were a major Clan; their unique traits made them well-suited for being anything from hunter-nin to combat specialists. Tsume was soft on her son, and let him get away with many things. Kiba knew the word discipline only in a rather indirect manner, as no one else was willing to correct his actions, lest they face Tsume's wrath. The only individual who Kiba every trod carefully around was his elder sister, Hana, and she was rarely present due to her Iryo-nin responsibilities.

Iruka sighed as he surveyed the mass of students in front of him. This was their last year, at the end of the year they would take the ninja graduation exam to determine if they could become genin (which would later be up to the discretion of their jonin sensei, but by then it was out of Iruka's hands). Judging by the blank faces all looking in his general direction, or by the students merely talking to each other, Iruka was sorely disappointed.

Not one single student had noticed the two new arrivals in the darkened corner of the class. Not a single one.

Passing such completely oblivious children and sending them out on life-or-death missions was stupid, even if they were under the watch of a seasoned jonin. That was why most genin teams were given D-Rank missions at the beginning, sometimes for over a year. Even so, on just under half of all genin teams receiving their first C-Rank mission, a member died. _Might as well hand them over to an Iwa-nin along with a knife._ Iruka thought to himself. Hell, the closest student was no more than ten feet away, even if the two new arrivals weren't making much noise. He was pretty sure even a moderately attentive civilian adult would have noticed the two new children in the corner of the classroom, even if the lights were off.

But then, Iruka admitted to himself, that was the problem, wasn't it. Children this young often simply did not have the attention span or focus required of deadly warriors. Like many teachers, Iruka thought the ninja graduating system was, in three simple words, seriously fucked up. Ever since the end of the Third Great Shinobi World War, the head honchos of the village had gotten the idea that younger ninja were better ninja. This belief stemmed from the fact that so many of the heroes in the latest war had been young children. While this made sense on the surface, the truth was that those children really had no choice in the matter, it was often either succeed and survive, or fail and die. Nine out of ten ninja under the age of sixteen died in the last war, but those who had survived had been forced into greatness through necessity.

Now, however, in times of peace, there was no need for children to become jonin before they even became teenagers. It is true that children are amazingly resilient, both mentally and physically. For example, when a child breaks a bone, the bone will be usable within three weeks and be fully healed within a month or so, but when an adult breaks a bone, it will take months just for it to be useable again. Reaction times were literally off the charts when children were compared to adults. Children subjected to intense situations and horrifying strain have a tendency to bounce right back…or break completely. Besides, without the constant element of danger, the bloody corpses of their friends and teammates, these children simply could not understand the seriousness of ninja life, the need to be as powerful as possible as soon as possible. Indeed, many ninja hopefuls took their future careers as a joke; some even became ninjas just to make their parents proud or impress a boy or girl they liked.

Iruka always did his best to fail the students he thought weren't ready, using any flaw he saw to do so. Iruka didn't know if this made him a bad teacher or a good person. So far, Iruka had the lowest average number of students who graduated from his class per year…but he also had the highest percentage of students who are still alive.

Iruka thought he might have to fail quite a few students this year.

He cleared his throat expectantly, and the last few murmurs died down. _They still haven't noticed yet, have they?_ "Well, now that everyone is here…I would like to introduce our two latest students. Due to…unconventional circumstances, they will be joining this year's graduating class—"

"But Iruka-sensei," One girl shouted, and Iruka recognized her by the sheer pitch of her voice, not even needing to see her bubble-gum pink hair. Sakura Haruno was one of the hopefuls Iruka would like to fail, but on paper she was one of the best students in his class. However, Iruka knew that if she was to become a ninja, she should stay out of all combat situations; her speed, strength, and reaction time were among the lowest of the class, her best quality was her ability to memorize random facts (thus the reason why she was ranked highly in the class). "We've been learning this material for years. That's not fair!"

_And you somehow expect life to be fair?_ "They will be held to the exact same standards as you will, no more, no less." Iruka informed his student.

"Your two new classmates will be…Hinata, Namikaze Ichizoku no Kashin **(Can be literally translated as Hinata, Retainer of the Namikaze Clan)**—"

Whispers broke out in the room.

"Namikaze?"

"As in, Minato Namikaze? _That _Namikaze?"

"No way…I thought he died without any kids…"

"Dumbass, she's _no kashin_, a retainer."

"So? Who would be a retainer of a clan with no living members?"

Iruka's glare silenced the whispers. "…and Naruto Namikaze… Sozoku no Namikaze Ichizoku **(Heir of the Namikaze Clan)**."

The class practically exploded with noise, as many students really wanted to meet the son of a man they idolized as a hero.

"We're already here." A voice spoke from the corner of the room, causing sudden silence, drawing the attention and gaze of the other students. In the corner were a blonde boy and a bluenette girl.

The spiky-haired blonde was wearing a standard shozoku top and black combat pants. Over his shirt was a black and dark red camouflage flak vest that gave the optical illusion of his body constantly moving while still and it made the students momentarily disoriented. It was _almost_ understandable that they not notice the boy in the poorly funded low lighting of the broken down Academy classroom. The hilt of a katana could be seen over his left shoulder.

Some of the more perceptive students noticed that this boy was nearly an exact replica of the pictures of the Yondaime Hokage they'd seen, except for three odd marks on each cheek. His eyes even held an experienced look, the hardened gaze of one who has been through difficult, life-threatening situations and prevailed. Though young, he had a distinctly clean-cut appearance, and he had a sort of presence that made the guys in the room unconsciously straighten their backs and made the girls in the room swoon. His gaze swept over the room for the umpteenth time, appraising each of the inhabitant's position and threat level.

Even to the inexperienced students in the room, they could tell that the girl possessed the same aura of experience, if smaller, as did the boy next to her. She wore navy blue pants and an odd jacket with the same camouflage pattern as Naruto's vest, except it had white and red designs instead of black and red. However, it was no less effective in fooling the eye. The jacket did not fall to her waist, but instead stopped just above her navel to reveal an alluring midriff. Every single boy in the class noticed that she seemed to be the only girl in the classroom to have hit puberty yet.

Her exotic hair fell to her shoulders, framing a soft, porcelain face. The only physical imperfection on her face were two twin scars, one directly above the other, on her left cheek, each a centimeter wide and about six or seven centimeters long. The jagged furrows had obviously been carved not by a blade, but by some rough object that had been dragged along her skin violently. However, what the students noticed most about her was her pupilless, lavender eyes. Ever since the Uchiha Massacre, the Hyuga Clan had become the most famous and influential Ninja Clan in the Hidden Leaf; everyone knew what family a person with pupilless eyes belonged to. Yet, how could this girl, the retainer of the Namikaze Clan, possibly have the Byakugan?

"Um…nice to meet you all?"

* * *

After Naruto and Hinata had been introduced (read: mobbed) by the rest of the class, Iruka started a lecture on basic chakra theory.

Naruto and Hinata made an effort to appear as if they were paying attention, but Naruto already knew everything that Iruka was covering, and he had already taught Hinata a good deal about it.

Naruto spent most of his time doodling on his "notes" while Hinata spent most of her time watching Naruto. After what seemed like an eternity, the bell finally rang, and the students funneled out to lunch.

* * *

"This is crazy!" A blond girl with a long ponytail and bangs covering the right side of her face exclaimed to her two (read: only) friends. "How can the Yondaime's son just appear out of nowhere? I'm supposed to be, like, in the loop about these kinds of things, ya know?"

"Troublesome…" A boy in the corner grunted, disturbed by the loud noise. "…but I overheard something our fathers were saying about him, Choji, Ino."

The girl, Ino, gasped as she struck the boy over the head. "And you didn't tell us! Come on, stuff like this is important Shikamaru, you baka!"

"Now, Ino…I'm sure Shikamaru had his reasons." A rather rotund boy interceded.

"I heard some troublesome stuff I probably shouldn't have…" Shikamaru admitted, a troubled look on his face. _Besides, once you know something, Ino, all of Konoha knows it. I'll let the higher ups decide if they want to make this Kumo incident public, it'd be too troublesome if a huge panic or war started and it was my fault._

Ino and Choji glanced at each other. All three were actually close friends, despite appearances to the contrary, and Choji and Ino knew that Shikamaru rarely let things concern him unless they were of the utmost importance (and for Shikamaru, something had to be _really_ important for him to consider it important).

Ino shrugged. "Well, I'm gonna go talk to him. I bet I can get some juicy info on him. Wish me luck!" She stood up to prance off, but Shikamaru stopped her.

"Ino…try not to be a troublesome girl…trust me on this."

"Me, troublesome?" Ino asked with mock innocence as she shrugged Shikamaru's hand off her shoulder. "Never. Besides, us blondes always get along, ya know?"

* * *

"Where would you like to sit, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata scanned the grounds. She saw a perfect spot. It was a large tree that provided a large amount of shade. A simple swing, a single wooden plank suspended by two ropes, hung from a branch. Hinata pointed the spot out to Naruto. "How about over there, Naruto-kun?"

"Of course, Hinata." Naruto said. The two went over to the tree.

Naruto took out a large picnic blanket out of his bag and unfolded it, flapped it out, and set it down so that Hinata and he could both sit on it.

Hinata flopped herself down onto the blanket. _Sometimes, it's nice to not have to worry about landing on my tail._ For the first weeks after her transformation, Hinata had to get used to her new body. If she sat down at the wrong angle or fell on her tail, Hinata would feel a definite amount of pain from her sensitive tail. However, she also enjoyed that same sensitivity at other times, like when she was taking a warm bath. Hinata was slightly confused at not getting in the 'cafeteria' line with the other students. "Ano, Naru-sama? Are we not eating lunch?" Hinata didn't admit that she was hungry because she didn't want to be whiny or seem a burden to her Naruto-kun.

"I looked at the 'cafeteria' food. It looks to be neither nutritional nor appetizing." Naruto shook his head. He pulled a scroll out of his backpack and unrolled it to reveal an inked design for a storage seal. A sliver of chakra and a poof of smoke later, and two unopened bento boxes appeared in his lap.

"You made lunch for me?" Hinata asked in wonder. She beamed. _Naru-sama took time to prepare a lunch for me! _To Hinata, this was just one of the ways Naruto showed he cared for her. He wasn't one of the flowery romantics who declared his undying love for her through epic sonnets or cheesy poems. Hinata knew that Naruto preferred to express his thoughts and feelings through his actions, not words. For Naruto, the time he had spent preparing the food and his forethought in doing so was an active expression of his affection for his hanyou love.

Naruto blushed ever so slightly at Hinata's glowing look of adulation. He glanced off to the side. "Uh, yeah. I guess I kind of know how to make a simple bento. I figured that I should make one for you too…um…if you don't like it, I understand completely. If you want, I can buy—"

Hinata gave him a soft peck on his whisker-lined cheeks, and Naruto's jaw snapped closed. Naruto watched the dark-blue haired girl open the teriyaki chicken, nori, and steamed rice bento and mused to himself as he opened his own. _How does she have this affect on me? Raikage-sa…Raikage-teme and Kirabi-sensei were unrelenting in training me to have iron control over my emotions. Most of the time, I do, but somehow Hinata can break through my control like a bolt of lightning through paper. She makes me smile, makes me laugh, makes me happy, makes me proud…she's making me feel embarrassed right now! But the funny thing is…I like it. No, scratch that, I don't just like it…I love it. _

Naruto's warm smile died as he saw an approaching classmate. He had wanted to be alone with Hinata at lunch, but he admitted to himself that it was unrealistic to expect to have absolutely no contact with his peers. Naruto let a small, polite smile work its way onto his face. No reason to alienate anyone.

A girl approached them. "Heeeeeeey! Naruto, right? I don't think we've met yet, yeah?" The girl asked rhetorically. "I'm Ino Yamanaka."

"Nice to meet you, Ino-san."

"Hey, hey, no need to use honorifics among friends, right? So where are you from?" [1] Ino asked cheerfully.

"I was born here." Naruto noted, essentially telling Ino nothing.

"And…" Ino drawled, waiting for Naruto to continue.

"…and?"

"Well? What do you like to do? Ooooh, what's this?" Ino reached out towards the handle of Naruto's katana, but before she could touch it Naruto caught her wrist in a vice-like grip.

"Please keep your hands away from my sword…" Naruto asked in a seemingly polite tone. "…unless you wish to have them removed."

Although Naruto was no longer in Kumo, he still held true to many of the principles he learned there, particularly the ones focusing on practicality, not morality. Swordsmanship was a prized art in the Village Hidden in the Clouds; where Academy students learned single or double kunai tactics for close-range weapons fighting in other villages, children in Kumo were taught how to use blades two years after they learned to walk. High quality katana were not immune to wear and tear; if anything they were more susceptible to degradation than lesser quality steel. A true swordsman took care of his sword, as the sword would take care of him in battle. If he maintained the sword, it would be far less likely to break in combat.

For this reason, Naruto and other swordsman took great care of their blades, making sure their weapons were never chipped and the edges remained true. Regular oiling and polishing removed the chance of rust weakening the integrity of the blade's structure. All in all, Naruto treated his sword with the utmost care; it was a matter of honor and self-preservation to be the only one to handle his sword. If anyone else were to touch it, like an enemy, or an enemy pretending to be a temporary ally, they could weaken the blade so that it broke in combat, place contact poison on the grip (not that Naruto had to worry about that too much, the Kyuubi naturally denatured most poisons), or place a variety of traps or other nasties. Even a well-meaning but clueless ally could accidently damage the blade.

"There is only one person other than myself whom I allow to touch my sword." Even as he said the words, Naruto became acutely aware of how massive a pun that could have been. "You are not her."

Ino involuntarily took a step back and froze at Naruto's glare. Staring at her for a second longer, Naruto released his iron grip on her hand. The spiky-haired blonde continued eating calmly.

Hinata smiled to herself, her pointed canines showing ever so slightly. Of course, the one and only person Naruto allowed to touch his sword was her. After living with Naruto for several years, Hinata picked up a rudimentary understanding of weapon management. Not only that, she practiced it herself when taking care of her zai; the, rayskin-bound handles were notoriously prone to warping from the salty sweat coming from the user's palms. If Hinata didn't know how to condition her weapons, she would be sorely disappointed the next time she tried to strike an enemy with the knuckle of one of her zai. Thus, Naruto trusted her to be able to handle his sword without chipping or damaging the blade, even trusting her to polish it without supervising her. Hinata always made sure to never give any reason to make Naruto regret trusting her. If she ever disappointed Naruto, Hinata thought her heart would break.

The amount of trust Naruto gave Hinata sometimes scared even her. The scariest part was, Hinata knew that no matter what she did, no matter what terrible thing action she took, Naruto would still forgive her, _because he loved her_. She loved him back, and that was why she never wanted to displease him in anything she did. _Oh, Naru-sama…I can't wait to touch your 'sword' again._ The hanyou girl giggled softly to herself.

(Not two feet away, Naruto wondered why he suddenly had a boner. It was most definitely not the ditzy blonde girl in front of him.)

Hinata's giggle drew Ino's attention to her. _Hah! Maybe I can get her to talk!_ Ino thought.

In what Ino considered to be a highly subtle move, she put an arm around Hinata's shoulders and whispered into her ear. Naruto stared oddly at the blonde before continuing eating.

"Hey, Hinata, right? Name's Ino. I think we'll be great friends."

"Um…okay…" Hinata deadpanned.

"You're straight, right?" Ino asked suddenly, a completely standard question for an 11-year-old girl to ask, right?

"Huh?"

"You like boys, right?"

"Ano…" Hinata looked to Naruto, who was eating his bento and pretending to not be listening, but she could tell he could still hear them. "…just one, Ino."

Ino thought Hinata meant 'one at a time' snorted in laughter, sounding true to her namesake. "Ahahah! That's a good one! That's witty. I like you."

"Here, lemme give you a hint. Boys like pretty faces." Ino told Hinata conspiratorially. "If you want your boys to look at you, you have to cover up those hideous scars. Maybe use some makeup or something, yeah?"

Hinata seemed to wilt into herself. "Ano…maybe."

Ino, oblivious to Hinata's reaction, silently congratulated herself on 'breaking the ice' and 'making friends' with Hinata. "So where you been lately, girl?"

"Ano…I've been with Naruto-sama, mostly." Hinata said despondently between bites of chicken. It wasn't a gourmet meal by any standards, but the meat was tender, neither too overcooked nor too undercooked. "I guess you could say we've been traveling around lately."

"Ooh, that sounds like fun…" Ino sighed theatrically. _Yatta! I'm making some progress!_ "Is that how you got those scars?" She pointed to the two twin scars on Hinata's right cheek.

Hinata's chopsticks fumbled in her hands as a memory returned to her. "Ah, n-no, I mean, y-yes, I g-g-guess s-so. A-ano."

Naruto, seeing Hinata's panic, immediately came to her rescue. "Hmm? Hey Ino, you know all the other students, right? Who's that black-haired boy who's walking to the bathroom by himself while nervously looking in all directions as if he expects someone to ambush him?"

Ino's head immediately shot up. "Sasuke-kun?" She dashed off towards the boy's bathroom in hopes of ambushing and molesting…er, expressing her love towards her idol.

Naruto sweatdropped at the effectiveness of his ploy. _Huh. I had her pegged down as a fangirl, but that was a little over the top._ He shrugged and methodically scooped the last few mouthfuls of rice out of his bento as he discreetly scooted a little bit closer to Hinata..

"Naru-sama?" Hinata said quietly.

Naruto set his chopsticks aside as he finished his bento. "Yes, Vixen-chan?"

"Ano…do my scars make me look ugly?"

"No. I like them. They are part of you." Naruto gently kissed the scars on his mate's left cheek. "They do not make you look ugly at all, my sweet little vixen. They make you look…dangerous…they don't detract from your beauty, they add to it."

Hinata smiled radiantly. She didn't care what anyone else though; if Naru-sama thought her scars made her look even prettier, that was more than enough for her.

* * *

Choji raised his head up at Ino's approach. From some reason, she was breathing heavily, as if she had just run (or chased someone) for a long time. "Well? Did you learn anything?"

"Shut up."

* * *

Iruka was in the middle of giving another lecture that afternoon when Naruto slammed his hands on his desk and jumped up onto it, scattering paper and pencils.

"Just because Hinata-chan has gone through puberty does not mean all you guys can ogle her." He announced, glaring at some of the more daring offenders. Naruto had noticed a lot of the guys in the classroom sneaking peeks at Hinata. Some had pretended to accidentally drop papers or pencils, and used the excuse of trying to bend down to try and see up into Hinata's jacket. Not only did this make Naruto jealous on an insane level, it also made Hinata extremely uncomfortable. Naruto could tolerate the former, but the latter was absolutely unacceptable.

Suddenly, the wooden desk collapsed. Naruto jumped to the side in reflex to avoid falling onto his face, and jumped onto the desk next to him. Tobio, the boy who was sitting at the desk, angrily shoved Naruto away as his homework was ruined. Now Naruto lost his balance and fell…straight into Hinata.

"Ahhhhhhhh—" By pure coincidence, Naruto's yell was cut off as his mouth was covered by Hinata's. But that was not all. Naruto's eyes widened and met Hinata's at point blank range as their tongues touched; their mouths open to allow free access to each other. Both found they enjoyed the sensation, and what started as an accidental kiss turned into a heated make-out session.

Almost all of the other students, with the exception of a few like Shikamaru, Sasuke, or Sakura, quickly gathered around Naruto and Hinata to watch, thinking the two would break apart in embarrassment.

Of course, they didn't. Naruto fiercely pushed his tongue into Hinata's mouth, relishing in the warm feeling of her tongue rubbing on his. Hinata kissed back with equal passion, and closed her eyes in reflex. She submissively allowed Naruto to explore her mouth with his tongue, and enjoyed the texture of his tongue, the way he eagerly explored her. Hinata brushed a strand of dark-blue hair out of her eyes as she tilted her head to the side to allow Naruto better access. After a couple dozen passionate seconds, Naruto softened the kiss and pulled back. Hinata gave a small sigh of satisfied pleasure.

* * *

At the other side of the classroom, Sakura eyed Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke-kun, you wanna—"

"No."

* * *

This time, Hinata was the one who took control of the kiss. She grabbed the back of Naruto's head and pulled him towards her, their lips meeting once again. Hinata kept her pearly eyes closed as she licked at Naruto's lips, and Naruto let his mouth open to allow Hinata access. After several unsuccessful tries (not that either Naruto or Hinata minded much), Hinata managed to slip her tongue under Naruto's so that the tip of her tongue was at the base of Naruto's tongue. With a slow, deliberate motion, Hinata stroked the length of Naruto's tongue with her own, and Hinata felt Naruto's hands grab her back and pull her into him, their bodies pressing against each other with urgent firmness. Retainer and lord were lost in their own world, a world with a population of two.

* * *

"…What a hypocrite." Shikamaru noted, and promptly went back to sleep.

* * *

When his eyes were finally finished popping out of his skull, Iruka cleared his throat. No response. He tried again, slightly louder. Still no response, either from the participants or the observers. Iruka sighed, and knocked a stack of books off his desk. The resulting slam of heavy textbooks hitting the ground was sufficient to startle everyone.

"Students, please return to your seats." The students did so, except for Naruto and Hinata, who were sprawled on the floor looking amorously at each other. "Naruto, Hinata? If you are quite finished cleaning each other's tonsils, I would appreciate it if you returned to your seats as well."

The jab was sufficient to make Naruto's face burn with embarrassment, and he returned to his seat, along with Hinata, except now they had to share a desk, a circumstance which neither was unhappy about. Hinata was far less embarrassed. To her, she certainly hadn't done anything wrong. What could possibly be wrong with kissing the person you loved? If it made other people uncomfortable, well then they could just look away!

As Iruka continued the lesson, Naruto could not help but to muse to himself. _Hmmph. Well, now, no guy will get uppity and try to ask Hinata out, now that they know she's taken. Same thing with the girls, because I'm obviously with Hinata-chan. Pfft. As if they could ever compare to my little vixen, either in terms of looks or personality._

Naruto and Hinata glanced at each other out of the corners of their eyes as Iruka continued his lecture. Unbeknownst to each other, they both shared the same thought.

_Mine._

_

* * *

_

_A week later…_

The bell rang, and the students scattered out of the classroom. Naruto and Hinata watched as the other students left; they were furthest from the door so they were the last to leave the classroom, even Iruka left before them.

However, Kiba Inuzuka stayed behind. He wanted to invite the Namikaze boy over to his family compound. The blonde boy seemed "hella chill" to Kiba. I mean, he even had his own retainer, his own slave, how cool was that? As Naruto and Hinata were preparing to leave the classroom, he strode up to them. [2]

"Hey, Naruto, wanna come over to my family compound today?" Kiba asked without preamble. "I wanna get to know ya."

Naruto's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at Kiba's rather informal tone. "I don't believe I would be available." He politely declined. "I was planning on training with my friend today. I would not think to renege on my commitments." It wasn't necessarily a lie, practically every day after school Naruto and Hinata trained on a level that was far above their classmates, however, a single missed day would not make a huge difference. However, something about Kiba rubbed Naruto the wrong way.

Kiba squinted. "Ne? Who?" Atop his head, his little white puppy, Akamaru, yipped the obvious answer. Akamaru could smell the female's scent all over the male boy. "Eh, her?" Kiba pointed at Hinata.

"Oh, you can bring your ho if you want." Kiba said in a generous tone.

Naruto's face hardened as his face took on a dangerous cast. His tone turned ominous. "Hinata is _not_—"

"Oh, she's not your slut? Just another bitch, then, huh?" Kiba interrupted. He laughed as he used what he thought was an acceptable term for 'girl', oblivious to the look on Naruto's face.

"She is not. No thank you, I'm afraid I will not be making an appearance at the Inuzuka Compound now or ever. I do not think I would be able to tolerate such crass surroundings, if your behavior is anything to go by." Naruto said coldly. He let off a little KI, causing Kiba to freeze up subconsciously. "Good day to you." He brushed past the Inuzuka, his shoulder jarring the feral boy and making him take a step to the side. Hinata quickly followed him, leaving Kiba behind in the classroom, confused as to why Naruto thought he was ill-mannered.

Kiba scratched his head, baffled. "I'm not crass, am I, Akamaru?"

"Woof! Arfarf, arf, _whiiiine_? (Dunno. Wanna go for a walk?)"

* * *

"I should go back and hurt him." Naruto growled to himself as he strode off the campus, Hinata at his side. "No one insults you like that, Hinata-chan. He doesn't know the _first_ thing about you! I should go back, beat him to within a centimeter of death, take my katana and neuter him like the dog he is."

Hinata laid a hand on his arm, causing him to instantly relax a little bit. It was just too hard for Naruto to be angry when Hinata was this close to him. Something about her calmed Naruto. "Demo, Naru-sama, but wouldn't you get in trouble? I don't want you to get arrested or something for my sake."

Naruto tilted his head to the side as he tried to calm down. "No. Because of the way this village sees me, I could do it without getting prosecuted for assault. However, Kiba-teme is the son of the Inuzuka Clan Head. I would possibly lose a lot of face in the village, and possibly face repercussions once I become a legal ninja from any of his kin. But I'm just so ANGRY!" Naruto spat, revved up again. He kicked at a fist-sized rock on the side of the rode, and succeeded in stubbing his toes when the rock turned out to be embedded firmly in the ground.

"Ano, Naru-sama? We can go train…maybe you can work out some of your anger in training…" Hinata said hopefully. She was fully willing to be the recipient of Naruto's pent-up anger if it would help him get it out of his system in a way that wouldn't harm his standing in the village. She walked up behind Naruto, only wanting to be close to him.

Naruto whipped around at his retainer's suggestion, thinking Hinata was still several feet away from him when she was actually right next to him. His sudden movement made Hinata flinch. Seeing Hinata's flinch made the heat of Naruto's anger dissipate like the heat of a glowing, freshly smithed sword doused in water. The mere thought of Hinata being afraid of him made Naruto cringe on the inside. _I never want my vixen to be afraid of me… _Naruto took a few deep breaths as he set his arm around Hinata's shoulders.

"Hmm, how about no training today, Vixen-chan." Naruto said as they left. "Let's just go for a walk around town and talk."

"That sounds fantastic, Naru-sama." Hinata said happily. Naruto seemed to have calmed down completely, and that made her happy.

Naruto offered her his arm. "My lady?"

"My lord." Hinata giggled as she linked arms with her mate. Together, they walked down the streets of Konoha, simply looking at the scenery.

* * *

They walked through the parks. Neither Naruto nor Hinata had any general direction in which they were walked; they merely walked where their feet took them. Eventually, the road took them into the shopping district; vendors were hawking anything from shampoos to food to items that enhanced…bedroom pleasure.

"Cinnamon rolls; get your warm, sweet cinnamon rolls, fresh from the oven!" A vendor called out. Naruto glanced over, and when the vendor saw him, his face brightened; everyone recognized the Yondaime's son. "Ah, Namikaze-sama. Would you like to try a cinnamon roll, just 200 ryo?"

"Ah, no than—"

"Oh, but your little lady friend looks hungry! Tell you what, just for you, Namikaze-sama, I'll give you one for free this time, no strings attached! If you like it, you can just drop by and get some later. How does that sound?"

"Well…" Naruto turned to Hinata. "Um, Hinata-chan, do you want one?"

Hinata tilted her head to the side. "Hmm…I've never had a 'cinnamon roll' before. I guess I'll try one, Naruto-kun."

The man gave a deep cheerful belly laugh. "That's the spirit!" Without pause, he wrapped up a sugar-glazed cinnamon roll and stepped forwards. [2]

Hinata slight flinch was noticed only by Naruto as the tall man stood in front of her, offering the cinnamon roll. _He's in front of me!_ Fear gripped her and her heart beat so rapidly it felt like it would burst through her chest. Hinata tensed up and froze. _He'll hurt me, rape me! I have to get away! No, no, Naru-sama is here, he won't let anyone hurt me! I won't embarrass Naru-sama!_

Hinata forced herself to reach out and accept the pastry with shaking hands. "A-Arigat-to." She stammered.

The baker chuckled, mistaking the girl's actions for shyness. "Heh, cute kid. Just remember, Ryori's bakery ain't no fakery."

Naruto suppressed a wince at the cheesy saying as he fished around in his pocket and found two 100 ryo coins. The Namikaze heir handed them to the baker, who tried to refuse.

"Eh? They're on the house this time, Namikaze-sama."

Naruto left them on the counter. "I insist. I would consider it dishonorable, almost thievery, to accept the product of a man's hard work without some form of payment."

Ryori grinned. Truth be told, although his business was on the brink of failure earlier this morning, but now he was set. People would flock to his bakery in droves once that they heard that _**the**_ Naruto Namikaze was served here, even if it was just once. After all, what other places could claim as much? Ryori would have certainly heard if the heir to the legendary Namikaze Clan had been a patron at any other restaurant. Now, though, Ryori knew he would not be having any financial troubles any time soon. However, it was a very proper gesture for Naruto to make, one that showed he had manners, politeness, and propriety. "I guess I can't refuse when you put it that way. Domo arigato, Namikaze-sama."

"Do itashi mashite.[3]" Naruto replied, and subtly linked his arm with Hinata and guided her off. Once they walked another block, Naruto found a bench and gently pressed Hinata down so that she sat on it, and joined her. The entire way, Naruto had felt her shaking, and he knew exactly why.

The blonde boy gently wrapped one arm around his mate's waist and pulled her close. Hinata was starting to hyperventillate, and she sensed _them_, all around her. _They _were hiding from her, biding _their _time, but Hinata knew _they _were there, yes she did. She knew it was only a matter of time...

"I'm right here, my little vixen. I won't let anyone touch you, remember?" Naruto whispered soothingly in Hinata's ear. Her trembling slowed, and Naruto, encouraged, went on. "He walked right up to you, and you stayed in control. You were very brave, Vixen-chan."

Hinata looked at him. "Y-You really think s-so, Naru-sama? I felt really scared. I wanted to r-run away." She admitted.

"But you didn't." Naruto noted. "Everyone gets scared, my little vixen—"

"Even you?"

"Even me. But it takes true courage to overcome your fear. Do you want to hear about the first time I got really scared?" Naruto asked. Hinata nodded. "I was about to run Kumo's third-tier obstacle course for the first time. The very first obstacle was a 50 meter jump down into murky water that was rumored to be filled with alligators. That very first time, I stood on the edge and looked all the way down. It seemed like it was way too high, and I froze. I started thinking of all the reasons why I shouldn't jump, like the fact that I wasn't supposed to even be on such a dangerous course in the first place, or that I should at least climb down and check to see if there really were alligators in the water. But you know what I did then?"

"You jumped." Hinata stated with absolute confidence.

Naruto shook his head. "No, I chickened out. I climbed down that ladder, and I ran all the way home. It wasn't until a week later that I got the courage to jump off and start the obstacle course. So you see, Vixen-chan, you're actually braver than me."

"But Naru-sama," Hinata said, distressed. _Naru-sama is brave and strong, I know it! Naru-sama is no coward, right?_ "How old were you at the time?"

"Six, but that's not the point." Naruto conceded. "The point is, it's okay to be scared sometimes. Just remember that not _everyone_ is out to hurt you, and I'll always protect you from those who do. That's my promise, a promise of a lifetime."

Hinata smiled as she finally relaxed completely, incredibly relieved. _I knew Naru-sama isn't a coward! Ever since I've known him, he's always expected the best out of himself. Naruto-kun would be the type to try a dangerous stunt at such a young age. Naru-sama promises, and Naru-sama always keeps his promises._

"Thank you, Naru-sama…" Hinata said softly. She gently kissed Naruto's cheek, and Naruto smiled back.

The hanyou girl unwrapped the cinnamon roll and gingerly took a nibble. The flavor exploded sweetly into her mouth. The texture of the dough was heavenly, and Hinata took a bigger bite.

Naruto observed the enjoyment on her face. "Does my little vixen enjoy it?" He teased. Deep down, he felt a little irrationally jealous at the level of enjoyment Hinata was showing. _What? It's not like Vixen-chan could love a pastry more than she loves me._ Naruto reminded himself.

Hinata looked at Naruto, slightly embarrassed for a different reason. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Naru-sama! Do you want some?"

Naruto politely declined. "No, I'm good." Hinata could see the hidden cunning on her mate's face, but continued eating the cinnamon roll, confused.

As Hinata popped the last bite of cinnamon roll into her mouth, Naruto made his move. He darted his head forwards and pressed his lips firmly upon Hinata's, tasting the sweetness of the pastry she had been eating. Naruto used his tongue and stole the last bite right out of Hinata's mouth before she even had a chance to respond from the sudden kiss.

Pulling back, Naruto smirked at a dazed Hinata as he tasted cinnamon and sugar. "Heh, it _does_ taste good."

Hinata fake-glared at Naruto, her pupilless lavender eyes showing mock annoyance. Naruto cringed. "I mean, um, sor—"

_It's payback, Naru-sama! _The hanyou girl pounced and sat on Naruto's lap as she straddled him on the bench. She kissed him intensely and practically tried to choke him with her tongue.

As they both ignored the setting sun, Naruto made a mental note to get more cinnamon rolls from Ryori's Bakery sometime.

_

* * *

_

_Two weeks later…_

Naruto calmly rolled his shoulders from his side of the stage, and tilted his head to either side to loosen it. Across from him, Sasuke glared at his blonde opponent as he stretched.

Well, in the few weeks Naruto had been at school, he had somehow managed to attract a large fanbase of female worshipers, possibly rivaling than that of Sasuke's. Naruto didn't consider either himself or Sasuke as the type who would be physically attractive to girls, so he figured that it was their reputations and their family names that garnered the illogical affections of so many girls. Naruto resisted the urge to shudder as he bent down, stretching fully enough that he could place his palms flat on the ground without bending his knees. In fact, a large number of Sasuke's fangirls were "defecting" over to him, and Naruto couldn't for the life of him figure out why. His only guess was that he actually smiled and held conversations that lasted more than three syllables or didn't include plans to murder his next closest blood relation. Somehow, though, those girls didn't even care about Hinata! Apparently, there was some sort of obscure law called the KCRA, or the Konohagakure Clan Restoration Act, which allowed the heir of a clan to take multiple wives if he so wished. Depending on the Clan in question, the KCRA could be enforced by the Konoha Judiciary Council if the male in question chose not to take advantage of it. The girls figured that they could share Naruto or Sasuke, but a great percentage of them couldn't figure out which to choose!

That was why this Friday was highly anticipated by all the students. Why? Because Naruto Namikaze and Sasuke Uchiha were finally going to spar.

And this wouldn't be an ordinary Academy spar, in which opponents fought just one round. No, there was far too much interest, particularly from the higher ups in the Konoha government, for such a mundane occasion. Naruto had shown incredible potential as a shinobi (particularly to those unaware of his previous residence). It was always important to know which young shinobi had good chances of becoming elites, or even legends, but only in extremely rare cases could a village produce multiple famous ninjas' in the same generation without their reputations overshadowing each other (the Legendary Sannin being one such exception).

Thus, Naruto and Sasuke were fighting under rules and regulations ordinarily reserved for _jonin_.

As the regulators wanted to avoid serious injuries between the two ninja hopefuls, they used _taijutsu protocol-3_. Despite its name, combatants could use any form of fighting they wished, but the small stage, a circle with a radius of roughly 15 meters, made physical combat the most effective. The match would be graded on a point system. Making your opponent ringout was worth 4 points, "lethal contact", which included strikes that would cause moral wounds (i.e. wooden kunai or the bokken for Naruto to any of the body's vital areas) was worth 7 points, while a full knockout was worth 10 points. A round ended five seconds after points were scored, so if two contestants hit lethal points on each other at approximately the same time, neither would have a net gain of points (As in real life, if two shinobi killed each other at the same time, neither won. In fact, they both lost.). The grading system obviously favored physical attacks, but acknowledged the use of forcing your opponent away with a well-placed ninjutsu. If the points were tied at the end of the ten rounds, the judges would determine the winner of a match.

Hinata energetically jumped up and down, waving from the crowd surrounding the meter-high stage to try to get Naruto's attention. He saw her and waved back, and Hinata rolled eyes as all the girls in the general direction of his gesture swooned. Practically speaking, Hinata was the best kunoichi-in-training of her entire age group, due to her previous training from Naruto. Her skills with zai set her at a level above her classmates in terms of physical combat, roughly mid-genin, and after Naruto discovered her chakra affinity for lightning, Hinata learned a few useful raiton ninjutsu. Her chakra control was incredibly precise, almost that of a high-level chunin, and her chakra level itself was only surpassed by Naruto's (and possibly the some of the other jinchuriki) in all of the elemental nations. She could pump large amounts of chakra into her Kitsugan-aided genjutsu, making them nearly impossible to break. All things considered, Hinata was much more of a low-level chunin than a genin-hopeful.

However, Hinata pretty much ignored Iruka and her schoolwork. Why should she have to listen to a _man_ ramble on when she could be watching Naru-sama? No reason whatsoever. Hinata's academic grades were fairly low, but then again, the Academy taught several useless subjects like flower-arranging (a girl's only class, evidently a sexist tradition maintained since early shinobi teachings, when the only assassination missions kunoichi got involved sleeping with the target and posing as an innocuous female before striking) and history (although not useless, it was best reserved for non-shinobi children, as knowing who was named what during which time wasn't exactly important when one was dodging kunai and jutsus). As a result, Hinata was merely passing the Academy, neither doing exemplary nor failing.

Also, she didn't much care what the teachers or her other classmate's thought of her skill level. Hinata was there so that she could graduate and become a ninja. Rank did not matter in real life, only raw skill, feral cunning, and blazing speed mattered in deadly combat between ninja.

Hinata winced and resisted the urge to cover her ears as the audience roared in approval as the announcer finally started the match. _I'm glad that I don't have my hanyou ears right now…I would be deaf by now!_ "Good luck, Naru-sama!" Hinata shouted at the top of her lungs, but even she couldn't hear her own voice over the sound of other cries of encouragement for either Naruto or Sasuke. Hinata made eye contact with Naruto, and mouthed her words distinctly; hoping Naruto could read her lips.

_

* * *

_

_Good luck, Naru-sama!_ Naruto saw Hinata mouth the words.

_I'll win this for you!_ Naruto mouthed back as the announcer began his introductions. The blonde jinchuriki tuned out the man. He wasn't really all that motivated to fight in this match, given the fact that he would have even more fangirls if (when) he won. However, the chance to impress Hinata (not that Naruto needed to woo her, it was just that he liked the loving looks of adulation she would give him) and the powerful figures in Konoha's government (who where a far second to Hinata, in Naruto's mind), was too much to pass up.

"Shinobi, ARE. YOU. READY?" The announcer shouted, emphasizing each word. Naruto snapped out of his daze.

"Hai/Hn." Naruto/Sasuke said.

"Then…FIGHT!"

Sasuke immediately started going through handseals the instant the fight began, apparently trying to gain the advantage by getting a preemptory ninjutsu strike, as they started at opposite ends of the stage.

Naruto watched Sasuke form the handseal, his experience in battle allowing him to recognize the handseals used despite their speed. _Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar… !_ Naruto recognized what jutsu Sasuke was about to use. It was the Uchiha trademark, after all. In the time it took Sasuke to form the last Tiger seal, Naruto was able to flip through three seals…which were all he needed.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu **(Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu)**!"

"Suiton: Suijinheki **(Water Release: Water Encampment Wall)**."

Sasuke made a ring over his mouth with his thumb and index fingers, exhaling sharply. A decent-sized flame blew towards Naruto, and in the small arena, it looked like the blonde would have no room to dodge.

Suddenly, the creaking, groaning sound of tortured metal was heard, and metal pipes could be seen bursting through the building's walls and ceiling an instant before large amounts of water streamed out of them straight towards Naruto. As they approached the blonde boy, the water gathered into a protective cylinder six feet high around Naruto, just in time to intercept the flames.

The blazing orange fire hissed and extinguished as it came into conflict with the water as Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. _Water jutsu are best used with a nearby source of free water. I hoped that using extra chakra in the jutsu would create a stronger pull on the water, so I could simply use water in the building's water pipes. Good thing I was right. Hmm, so how am I going to play this…_

A light drizzle from the automatic sprinklers on the ceiling fell upon the crowd, who loved it. The cheering and shouting increased as the audience got soaked.

Sasuke stared at the cylinder of water, waiting for his opponent to emerge. Suddenly, he felt a blunt object strike across his back with enough force that he stumbled to the side and was forced off balance. With a growl, Sasuke jumped off the stage lest he land on his face, as he was so off balance that recovering without falling off the stage one way or another was impossible. He glared up at his opponent, who was holding his in a latent-striking position.

"Eleven Points." Naruto said quietly to Sasuke, his tone lightly mocking. Most people progressively fought worse and worse as they got angrier and angrier. It was only a very small percent of people who could channel their rage into an adrenaline-enhancing bloodlust that made them faster and stronger and helped them ignore pain, while still keeping enough of their head to reason logically and make smart actions.

"Hn." Despite the lack of verbal comeback, from the look on Sasuke's face Naruto saw that it would take very little to set the raven-haired boy's emotions off. _He seems like the type to succumb to rage at the right provocation._ Behind him, the empty water shield collapsed to the ground, its purpose as a distraction fulfilled. _I'll bet he has some sort of insecure inferiority complex, covered by a superiority mindset._

"Shinobi, return to your positions!" The referee, seeing the potential for trouble, quickly inserted himself between the two. "Get ready for Round 2!"

_Damn him! Gokakyu no Jutsu is my only combat ninjutsu, and he can neutralize it with that water jutsu! I guess I'll have to stick to taijutsu, then._ Sasuke thought as he and Naruto returned to their starting positions.

Naruto watched as Sasuke adopted a taijutsu stance. He resheathed his bokken on his back but kept his hand on the grip. He let his knees flex slightly and set his left foot forwards. His left hand rose, his palm facing Sasuke.

"Combatants! Round 2, Begin!"

Naruto rotated his left hand so that his palm was facing up, and made a "come hither" taunting motion with his fingers. Sasuke obliged him by rushing forwards. Naruto evaded Sasuke's haymaker right by ducking under it. Sasuke made to kick him, but Naruto redirected his opponent's motion with his free left hand, using his own movement to switch their positions.

Now, Sasuke was the one closest to the edge, and Naruto was behind him. His right hand, which had remained on the hilt of his sword until now, blurred and unsheathed his bokken from his back. Flipped the blade in a smooth motion, Naruto pushed the blunted tip of the bokken against the middle of Sasuke's lower back, right where his spine would be. If it had been a real blade, it would have severed his spine. As it was, the wooden prop had enough force to knock the Uchiha off balance. In the same motion as his sword strike, Naruto took a step forwards and placed his left hand in the middle of Sasuke's back.

A mild push, and Sasuke fell out of the ring once again.

"22 points." Naruto said, smirking. "Is this the best you've got?"

"Combatants, return to your positions!"

_

* * *

_

Several dozen seconds later…

"33" Points!"

_

* * *

_

Several dozen seconds later…

"44" Points!"

_

* * *

_

A few minutes later…

"77" Points!"

* * *

"Face me, you coward!" Sasuke snarled. He had attacked Naruto in several different ways, trying several different fighting styles, trying to slip out a wooden kunai as a sneak attack, he even tried using his ninjutsu again. The result was the same each time. Naruto would maneuver himself into Sasuke's blind spot and strike with his bokken to knock Sasuke off balance and out of the ring, simultaneously scoring points for lethal strikes and ringouts.

"So that you can see me? I don't know if you've activated your Sharingan yet, Sasuke, but it seems like a rather poor idea to let you analyze my fighting style. Besides, I don't feel like knocking you out. I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible, and waiting several minutes for you to wake up every time after I knock you out would isn't my idea of quickness." Naruto noted in a bored tone. He wasn't being arrogant, he was stating a fact. _I'll bet Hinata will give me some sort of 'prize' after I win… Hmm, better stop that. Right in front of an audience of a few hundred would definitely make the list of top five awkward boners._

Naruto knew better than to harbor foolish ideas and preconceptions about combat. If there was one word he had to choose to describe this spar, Naruto would call it realistic. Sasuke was doing the same things he would do in a real life, combat situation. Naruto was reacting the same way. Just because he didn't engage in the lengthy, back-and-forth exchanging of blows that was typical of most fights, didn't make his actions any less efficient. If he had a real blade instead of a bokken, Sasuke would be dead each time he attacked him.

"Don't underestimate me." Sasuke warned as he and Naruto began to circle each other once more. "You have no idea of what the Uchiha are capable of. I'll show you the true power of the Uchiha!"

"Forgive me for disregarding you divine claims to power." _Ne, it's actually pretty fun pissing him off._ "You seem to thing that being an Uchiha guarantees you to be powerful."

"Kega-rawashii!" Sasuke spat. [4]

Everyone in hearing range of Sasuke's comment immediately went silent. Trash talk between combatants was allowed, even encouraged, but insults were somewhat less acceptable. When the insults included the deceased, they were usually considered in somewhat bad taste. Especially when those insults involved possibly the most famous, most respected most loved shinobi in all of Konoha history. If he were not the last member of the Uchiha Clan, an insult of Sasuke's level would probably have resulted in him suddenly dying in the night with his throat slit, if not by Naruto's hand, then by anyone else who respected the Yondaime's memory. As it was, many people in earshot lost a great deal of respect for Sasuke at that moment.

"This one may be an orphan, but I am no Kega-rawashii." Naruto said. [5]

"We'll see about that, _teme_." Sasuke sneered.

Naruto raised one eyebrow, but there was now a dangerous glint in his eyes. "_Teme_? Well then…I guess that makes you a _dobe_."

For the first time in the match, Naruto took the first action at the start of the round.

_

* * *

_

At the end of ten rounds…

The referee/announcer gave Sasuke a sympathetic look as he brought the microphone to his mouth. "And, at the end of ten rounds, with a score of—" At least he had the decency to look halfway embarrassed. "—110 to zero…Naruto Namikaze!"

Naruto raised both arms to the wildly cheering crowd. With a not-so-subtle smirk towards Sasuke, he made a flamboyant bow towards his fan, causing even louder cheering. Naruto liked to think he would have been a gracious winner…if Sasuke hadn't pissed him off that badly.

Sasuke glared back…as best he could with both his eyes swollen nearly shut and missing three teeth.

Naruto had not been gentle the last few rounds. Instead of using just enough force to knock Sasuke off balance and out of the ring, Naruto displayed an extreme lack of prejudice in using his bokken to raise welts and form bruises.

The crowd started to cheer Naruto's name, emphasizing each syllable. "NA-RU-TO! NA-RU-TO! NA-RU-TO!"

"Well, I guess I'll see you back at school…_dobe_." Naruto disappeared into the roaring crowd.

* * *

Everyone Naruto saw wanted to congratulate him and introduce themselves. Of course, some genuinely acknowledged the skills Naruto had shown, knowing that what was not seen was often more important than what was, and others were just sycophants who wanted to ingratiate themselves with the Namikaze name. Regardless, Naruto took the time to meet and acknowledge each person, and did his best to associate names with faces and traits in his memory. An advisor to the Hokage (old, wrinkly), the Clan Head of the Aburame there (weird coat, pale, shades), an former leader of a disbanded ANBU unit (weird bandages, experienced presence), a civilian girl who worked a ramen stand (brunette, pretty, but not as much as Hinata).

It was always important to know people. Naruto doubted politics were much different in Konoha than in Kumo.

Naruto kept his friendly smile stuck on his face, but his patience was beginning to wear thin. After meeting and greeting a sickly ex-ANBU (bags around eyes, fellow katana wielder, chronic cough), his Academy teacher (scarred nose, with a dark scar instead of a light one), and a newly promoted jonin (long black hair, red eyes), Naruto finally found the person he was looking for.

He and Hinata met in a quick celebratory hug, but what happened next Naruto did not expect. Instead of staying next to him, Hinata pulled away and looked him in the eyes.

"Naru-sama, I need to go do something." Hinata told her victorious mate. "I'll be right back."

And with those words, Hinata disappeared, leaving Naruto confused as to what could possibly be important enough to make Hinata leave his side.

Sasuke brooded as he walked down the streets of Konoha. His thoughts were dark as he brooded about the ease with which the blonde had defeated him. _How far am I from my goal? I thought I've been on track to killing Itachi…but I'm nowhere close! I've been fooling myself this entire time! Itachi mastered his Sharingan at the age of eight, when I still haven't even activated mine yet! Konoha is obviously not giving me the power I need. How dare they idolize that blonde dobe!_

* * *

"Ah, Uchiha-sama! I heard about your match today!" A grocer called out.

Sasuke scowled as he looked to the side at the speaker. Years ago, the grocer had offered a fresh bag of ripe tomatoes to the Uchiha heir as he walked home from the Academy. Ever since then, he always had bag of fresh tomatoes and a smile for Sasuke as he walked by.

"Hn." Sasuke took the bag of fresh tomatoes from the vendors hand and walked away. Socially, Sasuke supposed he should thank the man one of these times, but decided the privilege of aiding Konoha's last loyal Uchiha should be thanks enough for the man. Besides, Sasuke didn't even know the grocer's name. It wasn't really important anyways; the grocer was just some no-name peon.

Sasuke continued scowling to himself as he continued walking back to the Uchiha Comound. Ever since the Kyuubi attack, the Uchiha Compound had been relegated to the outskirts of Konoha (due to fears of the Uchiha being behind the attack, as only a fully matured Sharingan could influence the Kyuubi. However, Sasuke didn't know this.) As a result, the traffic on the road narrowed until Sasuke was the only one walking on the road.

As he walked, he bit into the ripe tomatoes. As a fruit, Sasuke knew that tomatoes were filled with many vitamins, nutrients, and anti-oxidants. His body had to be in good condition if he was to kill his older brother. Sasuke ate tomatoes because tomatoes were actually basically the only fruit Sasuke could tolerate, as he abhorred anything sweet with a passion. It was his brother who had the sweet tooth in his family, Itachi had loved pocky, ice cream, and anything else sweet. Obviously as a direct result of psychological association, Sasuke hated all sweet things, just like he hated all other things that reminded him of his brother.

The grocery bag dwindled until only two of the original six tomatoes were left. Sasuke took out the last one and brought it up to his mouth to take a bite.

There was the singing of spinning metal cutting through air, and a shuriken sliced the tomato cleanly in two before traveling on into the trees. Sasuke's hand clenched in reflex, crushing the tomato, as he spun around in the direction of the projectile.

His assailant did not even bother to hide herself, despite her choice of a ninja's weapon.

* * *

Hinata glowered at the boy before her as he whipped around from the shuriken she had thrown. She had followed the Uchiha, concealing her presence, as she waited for any potential witnesses/interferers to disappear. Now, though, she let Sasuke see here.

Hinata was not here for a long drawn out fight to humiliate Sasuke even further.

She was here to send a message.

A slight breeze moved strands of her long dark-blue hair, tied back so it wouldn't get in the way. "You insulted Naruto-kun. That is not acceptable."

Sasuke drew a kunai from his back pouch and took stock of his situation. He still had most of his chakra, as he had only used a single jutsu during his fight with Naruto. He wasn't even wounded seriously; Naruto had just prodded him around rather violently with his bokken, but Sasuke didn't have any broken bones or major lacerations. His eyesight was just narrowed a bit from his swollen flesh. Sasuke sneered, confident he would be able to beat this girl, who was obviously born into some pathetic family and had merely gotten lucky in becoming the retainer for a ninja clan. "So, the blonde dobe has to have his whore fight his battles for him? It figures that he's such a coward he couldn't even face me in a one-on-one fight for real this time."

Hinata's eyes narrowed. "You will not insult Naruto-kun again."

"Make me." Sasuke replied. _This will be my revenge! After this, the blonde dobe will be so angry that he'll want to fight me, and then I can really test how strong I am!_

Hinata's image faded away, revealing itself to be a genjutsu.

Sasuke tensed too late as Hinata grabbed his wrist from behind and twisted, causing him to release the kunai.

Hinata pulled downwards, and Sasuke's gritted teeth failed to muffle his sounds of agony as his shoulder was suddenly dislocated. In an instinctive reaction to pain, Sasuke pulled away from Hinata. She let his upper body move, but gripped the back of his head while sweeping his feet out from under him and slammed his head into the grassy ground.

Sasuke's blood was absorbed by the ground in copious amounts as his nose shattered and one of his cheekbones broke; the water and nutrients in his blood fertilizing the grass.

Sasuke was in a world of pain. In his entire life, the most physical pain he had ever experienced was accidentally slicing a finger with a kunai. While he had experienced his elder brother's Tsukuyomi, Sasuke had never experienced actual pain, the body's way of telling the mind that damage was occurring. As such, he had no resistance to pain.

Hinata daintily stood on Sasuke's left kneecap, intending to use the pain to check if the Uchiha boy was still conscious. Sasuke's black eyes shot open in pain as his knee began to bend a direction it wasn't made to go. As he did so, he met Hinata's eyes.

He shivered at what he saw. In those pale, pupilless eyes Sasuke saw no compassion, no kindness, no mercy. Just like his brother.

Hinata looked over and saw that Sasuke was quite conscious and staring at her. She rapped her knuckles against his throat not gentle and he made a gurgling sound, his good hand going to his throat as he tried to catch his breath. Effectively, she had just cut off the yell he had been about to voice.

Satisfied, Hinata stepped on Sasuke's left kneecap once again and gripped his ankle in both hands. Slowly, she began to pull upwards, and she could slowly feel the tendons in the kneecap begin to stretch to their limits. Pulling a little bit more, and Hinata could feel the tendons and ligaments part as Sasuke struggled to scream. A little bit more, and Hinata broke Sasuke's kneecap.

The hanyou girl moved off of the last Uchiha, finally allowing him to withdraw into a semi-fetal position as he drew his one good leg up to his chest, sobbing his face into the uncaring grass. His blood joined tomato juice on the ground.

Hinata looked down at Sasuke's body. "You will insult Naruto-kun never again." She repeated.

The hanyou girl walked off with a small smile on her face, deliberately stepping on Sasuke's last tomato, without the slightest trace of guilt.

No one insulted Naru-sama.

**

* * *

**

**AN: **

**[1]: This is somewhat of a private joke between my friends and I. One day, this kid comes up to me during high school and shouts, "Where are you from?" And I say, "Uh, I was born in..." And then he's like "No, I mean where are you from?" I say. "Oh, I'm Chinese." Then he shouts again, "No, I mean, **_**where**_** are **_**you from**_**?" And then I finally understand him, and say, "Oh, I just walked here from the Counseling Center." The kid says "Oh." And walks off. WTF? I know, seriously.**

**[2]: In Japanese culture, this would be considered very rude. Usually, you can't act in a friendly manner (ie close proximity, informal nicknames, slang, arm around shoulders, etc) unless you are already good friends with that person. Kiba is already disrespectful by the end of his first sentence. However, Naruto knows that Ryori is not intending to give offense, and takes none.**

**[3]: You're welcome (formal).**

**[4]: In Japanese culture, there is a large emphasis on belonging to a family or a clan. Because Naruto's father was the first to establish the Namikaze Clan, merely one generation ago, Sasuke is not alone in considering it one of the smaller, less influential clans. So he called Naruto Kega-rawashii, one with low-born reputation. This would be a major insult to anyone, high-born or not. However, by vocalizing this to Naruto, who is the son of the Yondaime, Sasuke is saying that he considers Naruto's parents, ancestors, future descendants, spouse, all possible relations, etc to be worse than shit.**

**[5]: Reference to the Japanese word used to refer to oneself in a humble manner. (i.e Ore-sama=My most amazing self, Washii= my aged self, Fusho= My humble self)**

**Teme: Bastard, punk. (Derogatory term indicating dislike.)**

**Dobe: Blockhead, fool, idiot. (Derogatory term indicating annoyance.)**

**And yes, I'm deliberately keeping most of Naruto's and Hinata's skills in the dark for now. They really don't have any real reason to use their full power yet… (cough cough ChuninExamsInvasion cough cough).**

**Mmn, Hinata's a bit yandere here. It works, though, doesn't it?**

**And for all of those of you that give me shit about my translations, I'm not Japanese. I'm a bastadized Chinese, half Mandarin, half Cantonese. For those of you who understand how much Mandarin people hate Cantonese people, I share your amusement…right before I knock your fucking lights out.**

**Review, or else I WILL find you and I WILL knock your fucking lights out!**


	6. asdfkjlasgqoi

**Hey guys, sorry for not updating in forever. I've been in the hospital for quite some time, having somehow managed to break my right arm, my collar bone, a couple ribs, my left tibia, fuck up my lungs, fracture my skull, and give myself one hell of a concussion (yay snowboarding...the snow was fucking awesome in California. However, the snow didn't help much when I fell off the lift and onto several large rocks).**

**On the other hand, I believe I've met my future wife and mother of my children. XD No really, she's literally perfect.**

**I'm all good now, just a bit loopy on novocain, but don't expect any updates until I can type with both hands again. Once again, sorry. Everyone have a merry Chistmas and a Happy New Year!**

-JayTang


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